This crisis isn't just for Christmas, but for months to come – Britain

needs leadership. A new virus strain requires new tactics 需要新的

策略，, but is Boris Johnson the man to convince weary 說服疲倦
citizens and stubborn backbenchers 固執的後座? It’s the hope that
gets you in the end. Had the nation been told at the beginning of
December that Christmas wasn’t happening this year, then
obviously it would have been a blow, 打擊 but we’d have coped. 已經
應付了。 Plenty of families had already made the mental leap 精神
飛躍 towards staying at home, judging by the uneasy reaction to
Boris Johnson’s initial promise of a super-spreader five days of
mingling, and more could surely have been persuaded. But no. Our
leader’s Christmas gift to a nation already at the end of its tether 它
的繫繩 was instead to get everyone’s hopes up and then stomp 腳 on
them at the last minute, when families had spent money some
couldn’t afford on food that won’t now get eaten and tickets that
can’t be used. Unpack your bags, Prof Chris Whitty said, if you
were planning to get away. Unravel your plans 解開您的計劃,
uninvite the 取消邀請 people you had let yourself look forward to
seeing, unpick the stitches 拆針 that were stopping some people
coming apart at the seams 接縫. But miserable 慘 as all this is,
recent events have blown a hole in rather more than a nation’s
plans. This crisis isn’t just for Christmas, but for months to come.
Cynics 憤世嫉俗的人 may see news of a new, more contagious
mutation 傳染性突變 in the virus as little more than political cover
for yet another embarrassing but inevitable 必然 U-turn. It’s true
that opposing, or even scientifically advising, this government must
feel like shouting into an infinitely deep cave; 無限深的洞穴； you
know it will have to echo your words eventually, but generally
around a week too late. (Did Johnson really have no clue this was
coming on Wednesday, when he ridiculed Keir Starmer for
suggesting Christmas plans be cancelled?) But it’s unfair to dismiss
pioneering scientific 科技先鋒 work so lightly. Scientists at the
newly established Covid-19 Genomics UK 英國基因組學 consortium
have 財團有 worked fast and furiously to identify 瘋狂地找出 an
important part of the explanation for why a lockdown – supposedly
the one thing we know works – didn’t work so well in November,
failing to buy as much time as had been hoped. If this strain of the
virus is 70% more contagious, and growing fast as a percentage of
all cases, then we will need to work far harder to contain it. That
raises the possibility of tactics that used to work now losing their
effectiveness. Just as doctors have to increase the dose of morphine
嗎啡劑量 as a patient gets used to it, restrictions may need to be
deeper or longer just to have the same effect. Yet all this requires a
government capable of carrying first its mutinous 叛變的
backbenchers, 後座， and second an exhausted country, 疲憊的國家
with it down a long hard road. It’s become a cliche 成為陳詞濫調 to
blame Johnson’s personal need to be loved for his inability to
articulate unwelcome truths or make painful choices. But this small
prime minister stands on the shoulders of smaller men, on whom he
depends for a parliamentary 議會 majority more fragile than
numbers suggest, and they, too, deserve a share of the blame. That
hard Brexiters are so often also Covid-sceptics 懷疑論 is no
accident; the same reluctance 同樣不情願 to face reality, and the
same stubborn conviction 定罪 that if they shout loud enough then
somehow they’ll prevail, 他們會佔上風 underpins 支撐 both
ideologies. These are the people who put Johnson where he is now,
and who could bring him down tomorrow. The country’s fate rests
now on their capacity to change, or his ability to turn on them.
Travel chaos, U-turns and a cancelled Christmas: it's Boris
Johnson's worst week. Ministers claim they’ve only just heard of the
new Covid strain. After days of ducking 閃避, diving and denials,
that’s another untruth. What bitter irony 辛辣的諷刺, what perfect
symbolism 完美的象徵意義, for Europe to slam 歐洲大滿貫 its gates
shut to us days before Britain was due anyway to self-isolate
permanently with Brexit. As country after country bans British
travellers for fear of the new Covid variant, the UK, high in deaths
and economic damage, is world-beating only as Typhoid Mary. If
there were a God of vengeance 復仇之神, this new blight 新枯萎病
falling firstly on us might feel like divine punishment. For the
superstitious 迷信的, add in Monday’s celestial sign 天體, the great
conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn – the closest together the planets
have been in 400 years – reprising 令人驚訝 the star of Bethlehem.
A king bearing myrrh 沒藥 would be grimly appropriate 嚴峻的適
當. Naturally Nigel Farage claims the French are using Covid to
close ports as a weapon in end-stage Brexit negotiations. That’s
absurd, 太荒謬了 since it harms congested 擁擠的危害 Calais as
much as Dover. But still the unlucky coincidence 不幸的巧合 of
these twin disasters has already set off panic-buying for fear of
blockaded fresh fruit and vegetables. Viruses mutate 病毒變異
beyond control of governments, but this government has not
mutated at all, learning no lessons in its dangerous mishandling of
every aspect of the Covid-19 crisis. Events of the past week expose
Boris Johnson and his cabinet at their very worst – ducking, diving
and denying, until a screeching last-minute U-turn. Touring TV
studios this morning, the transport secretary Grant Shapps, with
eye-popping untruth, claimed he had no idea, none at all, that there
was a new variant, 變體 or how alarming it was, until Friday night’s
Covid-O cabinet sub-committee meeting. In fact, Matt Hancock
warned of it last Monday. As the health secretary told the House of
Commons: “We have identified a new variant of coronavirus which
may be associated with the faster spread in the south-east of
England. Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster
than the existing variants.” He said there were already 1,000 cases.
In addition, last Tuesday the British Medical Journal and the
Health Service Journal combined to warn against the planned five-
day Christmas free-for-all, echoed by Keir Starmer at prime
minister’s questions on Wednesday. Hancock now admits the virus
is “out of control”. The country itself feels out of control, a
driverless train under this cabinet. When that cabinet sub-
committee was warned by its scientists that the new variant might
be 70% more transmissible, and that a 66% rise of infections in
London might soon overwhelm 壓倒 the NHS, our prime minister
reportedly held out 支持. He was, apparently, last to agree to the
Christmas U-turn. Though challengers lurk, Johnson’s party will
keep him while he still rides oddly high in the polls – neck and neck
並駕齊驅 with Starmer’s Labour, despite Covid mismanagement,
disreputable 聲名狼藉 Covid contracts, and the bad Brexit on its
way (even with a deal). Last week’s polling gave Johnson a vaccine
bounce: if it rolls out effectively, euphoria 欣快感 may wipe away
memory of this atrocious 殘暴的 winter of maladministration. 管理
不善。Yet this bad Brexit will slow-burn, year after year, as
Johnson’s lasting legacy.
Don't skip breakfast: Eight top tips on how to eat well this winter.
Paid for by. You don’t need to get caught up in an ‘all or nothing’
approach towards healthy eating this Christmas, small dietary
changes 飲食變化小 can make the world of difference to your
physical and mental wellbeing Winter holds many temptations 許多
誘惑 when it comes to food and drink, but this year there’s triple
trouble thanks to a combination of lockdown restrictions, Christmas
and the celebration of finally turning a calendar corner into 2021. If
ever there was a year for comfort eating and treating ourselves (and
perhaps ignoring the consequences 後果), it’s this one. But
consuming excessive amounts of high-calorie foods and drinks can
not only affect us physically, it can encourage long-term bad habits
and leave us feeling sluggish, irritated 呆滯，煩躁 and low.
However, nutritionist Jenny Tschiesche, founder of
lunchboxdoctor.com, urges people not to succumb 不屈服 to fad
diets in a bid to eradicate unhealthy 消除不健康 habits. “Crash
dieting [can] come at an opportunity cost. You can easily miss out on
nutrient-giving foods that are required to keep you fit and well,
which combine vegetables, proteins, complex carbohydrates 複合碳
水化合物 and healthy oils.” So whether you’re hoping to avoid a
fallout with 失戀了 the scales in January or you just want to keep
happy and healthy over the coming weeks and months, give some of
these simple tips a try. Don’t skip breakfast. It sounds like
something your parents might say, but a healthy breakfast can help
set you up for the rest of the day. People who have a filling, healthy
breakfast (or brunch for those who burn the midnight oil and get up
later) are less likely to reach for snacks during the day. “The ideal
breakfast should contain some protein and wholegrains, combined
全麥，結合 with a variety of colours from fruit or veg, 蔬菜” says
Tschiesche. “A balanced breakfast or brunch means you’re more
likely to make better, more balanced choices for lunch and your
evening meal and are less likely to snack on quick-fix food between
meals.” Porridge with fruit, 水果粥 wholegrain toast with poached
eggs 荷包蛋 or Greek yoghurt with fruit and seeds are all a great
start to the day. Plan meals with an app. Deciding what to eat can be
stressful. Whether you’ve got to cater for a picky partner, a tricky
toddler or teen, or maybe you get overwhelmed when trying to
decide what to have yourself, healthy eating can fall by the wayside
when grabbing something fast offers an easy fix. Taking half an
hour at the weekend to plan your meals for the coming week not
only eases daily decision fatigue, but can be a great way to ensure
you’re having a varied, balanced diet and don’t get stuck in
weekday meal groundhog day. 土撥鼠日 One You is a free app
provided by the NHS with more than 150 delicious and healthy
recipes. Full of inspiring, calorie-counted meal ideas, the app takes
the hassle out 麻煩 of having to think about what to eat. It also has a
handy shopping list function to make buying the things you need
easier. And you don’t have to worry whether the meals are good for
you, because the NHS takes care of that. Watch your diet. Following
a strict diet can be difficult and disheartening, 令人沮喪 and there
are plenty of fad diets 時尚飲食 out there that promise quick fixes,
but have questionable long-term results. As the British Dietetic
Association says: “There’s no wonder-diet you can follow without
some associated nutritional or health risk.” For many of us, the
easiest way to reach a healthier weight is to simply eat sensibly, in
moderation, and increase our exercise. It’s about balance. So rather
than cutting out the treats we love completely, make small changes,
such as choosing lower-calorie options, and drinks that are lower in
sugar and alcohol. The Eatwell Guide from the NHS shows that we
can eat an array of colourful 多彩的數組 and tasty foods each day
from all food groups, proving that with balance nothing needs to be
completely out of bounds. 完全超出範圍。 Treat yourself to a
fakeaway. Takeaways are great in moderation, but getting into the
habit of having them too often can be bad for our health and wallets,
so recreating cheaper, healthier versions at home can save you cash
and calories. Using a tortilla wrap 使用玉米餅包裹 and topping with
tomato puree, grated cheese 磨碎的奶酪 and chopped peppers –
then cooking for 4-6 minutes – makes a mean, lean pizza 瘦比薩.
Grilled cubes of chicken breast marinated 醃製的 in yoghurt and
curry paste, popped in a pitta 皮塔餅 with salad and mint is a quick
and healthy way to recreate some of the flavours of an Indian
takeaway. Or bread and bake your own white fish fillet, and serve
with a side of oven-cooked sweet potato wedges 楔子, for a fish and
chip supper alternative. Google “healthy takeaway recipes” for a
whole load of other, easy ideas – and then when you do shell out for
a takeaway, it will feel all the more special. Have healthy snacks at
the ready. Having healthy snacks to hand all day means you won’t
get caught out hungry and be tempted to grab biscuits, crisps or
sweets when your blood sugar levels dip.
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly in League With the Night review – a
vivid art of evasion. 規避藝術 Tate Britain, London. Poised,
mysterious and yet somehow always the same, the British artist’s
allusive 藝術家的暗示 paintings elude 畫作 deeper scrutiny 審查.
Ablack woman trains her binoculars 雙筒望遠鏡 on something we
cannot see in the darkness. Another reclines on 斜倚 a couch in
sepulchral gloom 腳踝陰鬱, in a pose borrowed from Manet. Two
black men pull on white socks at dusk, echoing the athletes 呼應運動
員 in a painting by Degas, but in a darkness so obliterating 消滅 it
makes their actions seems conspiratorial 陰謀的, perhaps even
ominous. 不祥的 The paintings of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye are not
quite portraits, and never quite narratives. She is not painting from
the life, so much as the imagination. In an introductory wall text at
Tate Britain, the artist speaks of working from scrapbooks,
photographs, assorted images and ideas to paint her black subjects.
We are to think of these compositions as fictions, amounting to
riddles. 謎語 This is certainly what her paintings appear to
present. A woman looks down, another looks away, a third shuts her
eyes against us: what are they thinking? Two figures cover their
mouths in theatrical gesture 戲劇手勢 s of silence: what are they
hiding? A team of sportsmen with their arms around each other are
all wearing black shorts, except one in white underpants – why, and
what is the significance? The titles don’t help. Indeed they only
complicate the question (and more strategically, particular
pictures). A relatively straightforward profile of a dancer in a black
leotard 黑色緊身衣, which seems almost to be an exercise in the
pure pleasure of painting a figure in oils, is called Later Or Louder
Or Softer Or Sooner. Yiadom-Boakye is a writer as well as a
painter. But it is as if the picture would have been too easily
available without that title. Her accomplishments as a painter are
everywhere evident. Born in London in 1977 to Ghanaian parents,
Yiadom-Boakye had many years of academic training. She has
immersed herself 沉浸在自己 in the art of the painters’ painters she
admires and invokes 欽佩和調用 – Velázquez, Manet, Degas,
Sickert. The opening gallery reprises 場合 Sargent’s Dr Pozzi in his
famous red overcoat as a black man in spa slippers. The catalogue
essayists 目錄散文家 praise her drapery 布 in terms of Cézanne. Her
painting of dark skin in shadow, circumambient gloaming 周圍的環
境 or night is superb. 高超 She makes a strong virtue of
contrapposto, 反對的美德 chiaroscuro 明暗對比 and the sumptuous
sinking 豪華下沉 of oil into linen. Her canvases work on all scales.
She can introduce a burning blackness into a sandy shoreline 沙灘海
岸線 without puncturing a tonal 刺穿一個音調 hole in the picture,
and position two children against waves and marine light 海洋燈 so
that the briny air seems to shiver. 發抖 She is adept at flickering
shadow, 閃爍的陰影 gleaming teeth 閃閃發光的牙齒 and the
radiance 輻射 of dark colours in the forests of the night. She has a
particular hook – a flash of white in the prevailing darkness 普遍的
黑暗, which might be an eye, a cigarette or a flower behind an ear –
and a look that is much in demand. Tate Britain is only the first stop
on a European tour. What connects the people in her paintings
seems to be an age-old preoccupation 全神貫注 with figure against
ground: odalisque 怪誕的 on couch, thinker on chair, loner against
wall or nothing but thin air.
Boris Johnson has 'got Brexit done'. With a deal that will please no
one. Britain leaves the EU with its sovereignty compromised, its
economy weakened – and its leader walking a tightrope. Brexit was
never fundamentally an economic project. It was always more about
what it said on the ballot paper in 2016. Brexit was about ceasing 關
於停止 to be a member of the European Union. Leavers understood
that. Remainers, in contrast, still struggle with it. To a lot of
remainers, Brexit had to be a proxy 成為代理 for something else:
anti-immigrant feeling, maybe, economic disempowerment, 喪失權
力 or post-imperial nostalgia. 帝國懷舊 Those issues were not
irrelevant to Brexit, 與英國退歐無關 but they were never the main
point. Leaving the EU was an emotionally charged 激動 political
proposition, not an economic one. It was a desire rooted 慾望紮根 in
a vision of British sovereignty richly marinaded 醃製 in a heady mix
of nostalgia and bogus victimhood, 虛假的受害者 fanned by 扇動
Britain’s media, and which made the enormous error of confusing
sovereignty with power. The reality of that error will come home to
roost in the months and years ahead. But Brexit was never about the
price of potatoes or cars. In the end, it wasn’t even about standing
up for Britain’s one genuine shared diplomatic triumph 外交勝利 of
recent decades, the Northern Ireland peace agreement. The initial
hoopla 最初的喧囂 on Christmas Eve about the trade deal with the
EU must be seen from that perspective. Stupid headlines about a
Merry Brexmas conceal 聖誕快樂掩飾 the fact that what is being
celebrated is in fact a thin deal and bad economic news for Britain.
But economics has always been secondary in Brexit. Trade deals,
like economic arrangements more generally, are not Brexit’s first-
order objectives but its second-order consequences. If free trade had
been the objective, Britain would have stayed in the single market
and the customs union. It was nonsense for Boris Johnson to
pretend on Thursday that the EU deal will create “a giant free-trade
zone”. There was one there already. And this deal says little about
services. What was finally agreed this week is a worse trade deal
than we had as an EU member state. Britain has expelled 驅逐了
itself from the EU because sovereignty is what really matters in
Brexitland, 英國退歐 not trade. As a result, for probably the first
time in human history, these have been trade negotiations that aim
to take the trading partners further apart, not closer together. That
would be difficult enough with goodwill, and has been doubly
difficult because of Britain’s unrealistic tactics. 不切實際的戰術。
But that is the looking-glass world Britain now inhabits. If taking
back control means giving up some of the prosperity, along with the
other benefits, that went with EU membership – and it certainly
does – then the leavers say: so be it. It is an inconvenient and ironic
truth 具有諷刺意味的真相 that all trade deals, including this one,
will involve a compromise of sovereignty for mutual benefit. That is
what making deals means. Even at the very end of the year, even
with coronavirus spreading, even with most minds focused on the
festive season and even with most of the press dutifully portraying
按忠實刻畫 Johnson as a commanding leader, things could fall
apart in the coming days. One should never forget that, among all
his many qualities, Johnson is a compulsive 強迫性的 political risk-
taker. Given the ferocity 鑑於兇猛 of the emotions that Brexit will
always arouse 總是引起, this deal may prove a much bigger risk
than anyone, including Johnson, yet realises.