The Joy of Six 1212

Helen Salisbury says it’s time to push back against the destruction of general practice in the NHS: "The down-skilling of general practice is often euphemistically referred to as a 'diversification of the workforce', but it’s hard not to see it as a deliberate attempt to deprive patients of expert medical care. The motives may relate to cost, despite it being well documented that high quality general practice with built-in continuity saves money in the long run (as well as lives). Or perhaps it’s about control, as GPs are notoriously independent and averse to obeying orders."

"Far from seeming out of place at the CPAC exhibition hall last month, Truss appeared at home in the company of America’s Trump-inspired populist right." Sam Blewett follows Liz Truss's journey from Downing Street to 'deep state' conspiracy theorist.

"The deliberate displacement of an entire people much surely amount to ethnic cleansing and arguably also constitutes either a war crime or a crime against humanity. What I know is that so much human suffering has been caused in the last year while the rest of the world has been largely silent." Andrew Page asks if anyone cares about Nagorno-Karabakh.

Jo Johnson argues that tomorrow's classical music audience is out there and doesn't want gimmicks: "Most first-timers would not be encouraged to attend by changes to the auditorium experience. Ideas such as using phones and social media during the performance, allowing people to take photos and video, and the freedom to talk and move around, would actually make many people less likely to attend."

Rachel Pronger on the paradoxes of Powell and Pressburger’s women: "The idea that a human might find themselves humbled by an encounter with something greater than themselves, with magic, faith, love or nature, is arguably the defining motif of the filmmakers’ work."

"The chairman of the Nuneaton and District Trades Council denounced ice cream van jingles as ‘death chimes’ because of the number of children apparently killed when running behind the vans. He had also received the usual complaints from nightshift workers." Owen Davies investigates the folklore of ice cream vans.