Bridges and troubled waters
During David Cameron’s years as prime minister, an unobtrusive figure could be seen slipping out of the back entrance to…
Bridges and troubled waters
During David Cameron’s years as prime minister, an unobtrusive figure could be seen slipping out of the back entrance to…
Not owning a car
On two occasions, sainted members of my family have offered me a car for nothing. Both times, I turned them…
Not owning a car
On two occasions, sainted members of my family have offered me a car for nothing. Both times, I turned them…
Diary
On New Year’s Day I went for a swim off Broad Haven beach in Pembrokeshire. The water was 10.3ºC: pretty…
Diary
On New Year’s Day I went for a swim off Broad Haven beach in Pembrokeshire. The water was 10.3ºC: pretty…
The Marx Memorial Library
There’s a small corner of Clerkenwell where the communist dream never died. The Marx Memorial Library has been in its…
The Marx Memorial Library
There’s a small corner of Clerkenwell where the communist dream never died. The Marx Memorial Library has been in its…
Meet Boris Mark II
The make-up lady at the BBC’s Millbank studio in Westminster has noticed a change in Boris Johnson’s look. ‘His hair…
Bare ruined choirs
We’re so used to looking at the abbeys smashed up by Henry VIII — particularly Rievaulx and Byland, in north…
Bare ruined choirs
We’re so used to looking at the abbeys smashed up by Henry VIII — particularly Rievaulx and Byland, in north…
Diary
Walking along the Brighton seafront, I was struck by posters advertising endless tribute acts; among them Suspiciously Elvis, the Small…
Long lives the King
Elvis only ever appeared in one commercial in his life — for Southern Maid, his favourite jam doughnut shop. That…
Diary
Walking along the Brighton seafront, I was struck by posters advertising endless tribute acts; among them Suspiciously Elvis, the Small…
Worlds apart
Classics is a boastful subject. Even the name — classics — has an inner boast; as does the classics course…
Give us a break!
As Boris Johnson will know from his love of Greek tragedy, hubris leads to nemesis. And it is Boris’s own…
The misery of black tie
Men don’t look good in black tie. They might think that they look like Sean Connery in Dr No, but…
The misery of black tie
Men don’t look good in black tie. They might think that they look like Sean Connery in Dr No, but…
The unlikely oilman
Former Spectator owner Algy Cluff on Margaret Thatcher, Robert Mugabe and Brexit
Picture books for grown-ups
Art Spiegelman, the American cartoonist behind Maus, the celebrated Holocaust cartoon, dreamt up a good definition of graphic novels: comics…
Picture books for grown-ups
Art Spiegelman, the American cartoonist behind Maus, the celebrated Holocaust cartoon, dreamt up a good definition of graphic novels: comics…
Rebel angels
The reverence for those involved in the Easter Rising is evident in an exhibition devoted to its centenary, says Harry Mount
Rebel angels
This is the first exhibition I’ve been to where the Prime Minister joined the hacks at the press view. A…
Trudeau family values
Justin Trudeau has his mother’s good looks – and his father’s dodgy economics
Diary
The Prime Minister is pretty angry with Boris. But the idea that they’ve competed with each other since school is…
