A natural sensualist
Charm is a weasel word; it can evoke the superficial and insincere, and engender suspicion and mistrust. But charm in…
The inflation scare is overdone but watch out for the price spike
‘We are seeing very substantial inflation,’ the great investor Warren Buffett told shareholders in his master company Berkshire Hathaway at…
Affronted
The problem with London’s fake facades
Wealth and misfortune
The potter and author Edmund de Waal revisits familiar terrain at an angle in his third book, Letters to Camondo.…
Bridge
The Lady Milne is the annual Women’s Championship between the home countries (and Ireland) and is most often a two-horse…
Great Scottie
On eBay I have an alert set for ‘Scottie Wilson’. Nine times out of ten, it’s a diamanté Scottie dog…
A grief observed
Nomadland won multiple Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress, and if there’d been an award for Best…
Monkey business
Money is a new internet play about financial corruption starring Mel Giedroyc. She appears on-screen for less time than it…
Who regulates the regulators?
This isn’t about David Cameron and Greensillgate; it isn’t about Boris Johnson and wallpapergate or Jennifer-Arcurigate. It isn’t about Westferrygate…
In memoriam
In Competition No. 3197, you were invited to supply a poem to mark the death of Prince Philip. I wondered…
‘I can just be myself’
Can Anas Sarwar woo Scottish voters back?
Dandelions
Dandelions are one of the cheeriest wild flowers. They are loved by children for their ‘clock’ seed heads, are entirely…
What’s next for the Union?
The Union faces two simultaneous challenges in Northern Ireland and Scotland that both look set to worsen in the coming…
Britain’s mental health problem
Experts tell us that we are facing a mental health ‘time bomb’ in the UK, partly as a consequence of…
Wright and wrong
Ian Wright: Home Truths began with the ex-footballer saying that the home he grew up in was ‘not a happy…
The Spectator’s Notes
There should be more ‘religious literacy’. So says the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Religion in the Media, chaired by Yasmin…
Barometer
Flat spin Which prime minister spent the most on their Downing Street flat, according to figures reported over the years?…
A stitch in time
What to include in a memory box of the plague year?
Master of the notes
Stepping into the Sistine Chapel, the choir loft is probably the last thing you’d notice. ‘Loft’ is, frankly, a stretch…
Parent trap
Welcome to the cripplingly expensive world of childcare, Boris
The true cost of make-believe money
I like Bill Maher. He’s a rare practising left-wing comic who’s actually funny. But last week, his routine on cryptocurrency…
China envy
From spending to lockdown, the West is copying Beijing
Tom Jones: Surrounded by Time
Grade: C Revisionism has been extraordinarily kind to Tom Jones, ever since he barked his way through Prince’s ‘Kiss’ with…
Letters
Christian approach Sir: Dr Michael Nazir-Ali’s criticism of our report ‘From Lament to Action’ (‘Bad faith’, 1 May) was wide…
Talking point
Gossip appears to be good for the mental health. That should make the females of the ancient world some of…
