Rishi Sunak is a prime minister in waiting
It is always a pleasure to see a first-rate mind in action, as we did during today’s Budget. Equally, when…
Memories of Stellenbosch and South Africa’s finest wines
Lockdown provides time to think, and to reminisce. A South African friend, trapped in Amsterdam, phoned the other day. Had…
My palate and the plague
Later this week, on Spectator.co.uk, I will resolve a mystery that has featured in a lot of Zoom traffic around…
The beauty and tragedy of Lebanon
I was thinking about tragedy. Could one use the term ‘chronically tragic’? My first instinct is against. Tragedy is the…
Why you can’t trust supermarket cheese
We were celebrating the end of lockdown by talking about war and deer stalking — over a business lunch, naturally.…
A Grantham statue is the least Margaret Thatcher deserves
Grantham in Lincolnshire has an interesting history. Newton went to school there. Turner produced several paintings of local scenes. During…
Lockdown might bring the Dickensian Christmas back into fashion
I feel like a prisoner, making daily marks on the cell wall to chart the approach of freedom. But will…
What if Thatcher won the 1990 leadership challenge?
Thirty years ago today, Margaret Thatcher was in 10 Downing Street. For almost eleven and a half years, it had…
Drinking to the glories of Burns and follies of Boris
At least in London, midwinter spring has not been entirely vanquished, and the trees are still a couple of strong…
A toast to Tim Beardson
I am in an Eliot mood, not a Keatsian one. ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ is a surprisingly… mellow…
Covid-19 and the victory of quantitative easing
Crises often lead to new paradigms. The politicians of the day try to repair the damage, learn lessons and prevent…
Perry Worsthorne: a man incapable of dullness
I had known Perry Worsthorne for several years before I went to work for him in 1986 (horrifying how time…
The finest Rioja in all of Spain
It had been a long and no doubt fractious sea voyage. The crew would have signed up for a variety…
With good wine, it’s all in the timing
Three bottles, three questions that delivered three different answers. I was in Dorset — cannot keep away — enjoying the…
Why Covid could be Britain’s new Crimea
This is a very British story. Because we Brits are often warlike but never militaristic, we often make a balls-up…
Can Simon Case restore stability to the heart of government?
Boris Johnson does not get everything wrong. The appointment of Simon Case to be head of the civil service at…
A perfect luncheon wine
I suspect, though this may be romanticising, that if a French lorry driver with hitherto suppressed culinary tastes won France’s…
Soave, an original sin-free wine
‘The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day’: surely one of the most beautiful images…
The difference between American and French wine-drinkers
Is it safe to visit the continent? On the one hand, abroad is likely to be less crowded this August…
The hunt for a Test-class claret
In one respect, there has been a reassertion of normality, though this is nothing to do with the virus. Although…
Boris Johnson’s leadership skills are in doubt
Two ‘c’s come easily to Boris: charm and cheerfulness. He has always believed that he can charm his way out…
The best wine since incarceration
The woodpecker jinked across the lawn like an especially cunning partridge. Its goal was a skilfully constructed bird table with…
Has Boris's luck finally run out?
In the grand scheme of things, it is easy to overestimate the importance of Parliamentary performances. But they do influence…
Two bottles to help eradicate cabin fever
The virus is in retreat, the lock-down is crumbling, the sherbet dispensaries will shortly reopen and there is a second…
Recollections of Burgundy
More than two months: who would have thought it possible? Before the great closure, I had been trying to decide…
