Brexit? Hah! Lockdowns? Shrug! Can nothing stop London?
It has been bouncing back for 2,000 years and counting
It was not an auspicious time to open a pub in central London. When Michael Belben and his business partner took over the Eagle on Farringdon Road, Britain was in recession. Undeterred, they bought mismatched crockery from car-boot sales, removed the fruit machine and darts board and installed an open-plan kitchen and a blackboard menu. The pub was relaunched in January 1991.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Invincible city”
Briefing December 16th 2023
From the December 16th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Briefing
The right in Congress and the courts will reshape Donald Trump’s agenda
As dominant as the new president is, there is still life in Washington’s institutions
How far will Donald Trump go to get rid of illegal immigrants?
It is his signature policy, but the obstacles are daunting
Young customers in developing countries propel a boom in plastic surgery
Falling costs and converging beauty standards spur new habits
The Assad regime’s fall voids many of the Middle East’s old certainties
What if Syria abandoned its hostility to the West and stopped menacing Israel?
Syria has exchanged a vile dictator for an uncertain future
It is not clear how stable or how benign the new regime will be
Gambling is growing like gangbusters in America
Technology and legal changes are spurring a betting bonanza