Look Who's Speaking

Tavistock Jill White:  President Obama refers to "the thousands of Ameri­cans who rest in European cemeteries" (at his press conference where he asked the UK not to leave the EU). This is a bit rich coming from the leader of a country whose refusal to join the League of Nations led to its collapse—along with any chance of stopping Hitler's rise to power.

The Daily Telegraph

The Splittists

E-mail R.E. Rawles,  Honorary research fellow in psychology, UCL: To discuss split infinitives without mentioning Raymond Chandler seems a shame. He wrote to an editor, who dared to correct his work, that "when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split". However, he did write in what he termed "a sort of broken down patois, which is something like the way a Swiss waiter talks".

The Times

Vikings at the Crease

L'Alfas del Pi, Alicante Christopher Horne: Your correspondent is incorrect to say the Netherlands is the only EU country other than England to play international cricket. Having returned from a most pleasant tour of the south of France by the Intellectuals of Alicante Cricket Club, I confirm that from Aug 17-20 this year Spain will compete with two other members of the EU—Germany and Sweden—together with Israel, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar in the ICC world cricket league (Europe) div­ision two tournament.

The Times