The Joy of Six 1283

"There is a pervasive rhetoric circulating on the role of environmental regulation. It goes like this: regulation blocks growth, slows things down and should be stripped back. Such blunt logic usually misses the point. There are many reasons why we have regulation but none more important than the protection it provides to people and the environment from harmful practices." Ruth Chambers argues that limiting the use of judicial review would be an assault on democratic values.

Ruth Swailes is sceptical about government plans to offer care and education for two-year-olds within existing schools: "By the time children start nursery education at 36 months (three years of age) when nursery teachers would normally first meet them, they are typically quite adept communicators. But two-year-olds are very different."

Josie Cox decided to publicise her book online. So began her journey into "the fascinating and infuriating world of self-promotion, humblebrags, 'boomerasks' and, yes, a healthy dose of sexist cultural norms".

"Now widely considered as one of folk horror’s classic films, Michael Reeves’ Witchfinder General (1968) was not only the first of the unholy trinity that are seen to define the genre – alongside Piers Haggard’s The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) and Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man (1973) – but also arguably the most disturbing of the three." Adam Scovell travels to Suffolk to visit the locations used in Witchfinder General.

"The effect of T20 is not just affecting Test cricket. Its penetrating deep into the grassroots.  An experienced school coach and former first-class player reports that “the U11s in Kent are being told batting long is not what we want. 10 runs off 5 balls is what we want! And a decent U13 player at Hampton school was told he does not 'hit the ball as hard as Jason Roy'! (Few do to be fair.) These may be isolated examples but you only have to watch a colts or schools match to understand the general direction of travel. Defence only exists in the NFL." Simon Hughes says the effect of uber-positive T20 batting styles is penetrating deeper into cricket, not necessarily for the good.

Eoghan Lyng chooses 10 of the best rock books of 2024.