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…
Peaty giant, Tuscan flower
The virus is in retreat, the lock-down is crumbling, the sherbet dispensaries will shortly reopen and there is a second…
A memory of Burgundy
More than two months: who would have thought it possible? Before the great closure, I had been trying to decide…
Hops and dreams
It is enough to drive a man to drink. The most glorious weather, so suitable for white Burgundy on a…
Boris Johnson needs to admit his coronavirus mistakes
Be careful what you wish for. Over the past few years, a fair number of thoughtful Tories have included a…
Wine to lock down
I was once invited to the Cheltenham races and found the experience underwhelming. Everything was too respectable: not nearly Hibernian…
Cavalier approach
This April was indeed the cruellest month, at least for those of us banged up in cities. From the country…
Sacrifice and resurrection
I cannot remember a prettier Easter, or a more frustrating one. This was no time to be in town. But…
Reading, thinking, drinking
Spring sense, caressing sunshine: last week, London enjoyed village cricket weather. Even in normal circumstances, the season would not have…
A toast to Italy’s health
We live in a world where yesterday’s inconceivable becomes today’s commonplace, but even so. I never thought that the day…
No more Spanish eggshells
It is time to begin with an apology, and hope. In the course of these columns, I have already admitted…
Of the first water
Peaty water ought to be classed as a luxury. You have spent a day on the hill, a’chasing the deer.…
Getting into the spirit
In the mid-18th century, London was awash with gin. Socially-conscious members of the bourgeoisie believed that this was the root…
Bloomberg is the only Democrat who can take on Trump
To paraphrase Shakespeare, the whirligig of time brings in… more whirligigs. Four years ago, few people thought that Donald Trump…
How Boris Johnson can emulate Margaret Thatcher
An open letter to Boris Johnson: People, even including your opponents, are getting used to the idea that you are…
A toast to Roger Scruton
In clubs and other admirable locations throughout the civilised world, glasses have been raised and toasts proposed. But this was…
My recipe to cure a hangover
Journalists exaggerate, often reaching for superlatives to chronicle mildly interesting events. Even so, there are times when it is necessary…
Christmas without God in the Appalachians
Christmas: without being grand and Proustian, this is a season when time present inevitably takes one back to time past.…
Never underestimate Boris Johnson
Much of the political class is still in a state of shock. Many are tempted to echo Lord Melbourne: ‘What…
Why I’m still convinced Boris will win a majority
Everyone seems agreed. Although the numbers may not have moved much, this election is still wide open. So anyone who…
Politics of a certain vintage – and wine to match
I wonder how they do things now at Tory headquarters. For the ’79 election, the preparations had been completed weeks…
Wine that puts politics in its place
In the era of vinyl, lost in one of Bruckner’s longueurs, it could be hard to tell what was stuck,…
The delights of Spanish wine – and art
First, an apology. In my last column, I appeared to be saying that good champagne does not age. This must…
