Diary
The Prime Minister is pretty angry with Boris. But the idea that they’ve competed with each other since school is…
Beautiful losers
When Henry Worsley died last month attempting the first solo, unaided expedition across the Antarctic, he was 30 miles short…
Altar, font and arch and pew
John Betjeman, the patron saint of English parish churches, once warned against praising British buildings too much. Be careful before…
The secret brilliance of Prince Philip’s ‘gaffes’
I’ve just been on the receiving end of a Prince Philip gaffe, of sorts, and I loved it. It was…
Red-brick revolutionaries
Labour was once the clever party. Under Jeremy Corbyn, its front bench is purged of Oxbridge intellectuals
Adventures on the isle that seduced Odysseus
Gozo — Malta’s tiny island neighbour — was once rather a crucial spot in the Mediterranean. The Knights of Malta…
Adventures on the isle that seduced Odysseus
Gozo — Malta’s tiny island neighbour — was once rather a crucial spot in the Mediterranean. The Knights of Malta…
Bad winners
Victory hasn’t stopped the vitriol among the lefties of north London
See no evil
Harry Mount once idolised the Kray twins. He’s since seen the error of his ways
See no evil
When I was at university, Reggie Kray was my penpal. I wrote to him in 1991, asking for an interview…
On the way to the Forum
It’s strange that tourists rarely visit the most famous site in Roman history. The spot in Pompey’s assembly hall where…
Antigua
‘Tourism, tourism and tourism,’ said my Antiguan cab driver, when I asked what the country’s main industries were. Still, it’s…
Antigua
‘Tourism, tourism and tourism,’ said my Antiguan cab driver, when I asked what the country’s main industries were. Still, it’s…
Greece Notebook
At the weekend, I tried — and failed — to get some money out of an empty cashpoint near Omonia…
A letter from Harper Lee
Avoiding publicity doesn’t stop her being sharp-eyed, curious and impeccably well-mannered. I have the evidence
Greece’s crisis turns to tragedy
Its people face an uncertain and frightening future
Two wheels good
Bicycles — in Britain, anyway — are the Marmite means of transport. I am among the bicycle-lovers, almost religious and…
Diary
I never knew classicists could be so scary! Last week I wrote a Telegraph article saying classics exams had been…
Impressionist Paris
The spectre of the Charlie Hebdo killings still hangs over Paris. Outside the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, opposite the…
Impressionist Paris
The spectre of the Charlie Hebdo killings still hangs over Paris. Outside the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, opposite the…
Fame and scandal in the family
The first Marquess of Dufferin and Ava is largely forgotten today — rotten luck for the great diplomat of the…
All in the worst possible taste
In the giftshop at the new Elvis exhibition at the Dome, you can buy your own version of his flared…
Sworn out
The advertising industry is obsessed with innuendo and dirty words
Signs of contempt
Why do we ruin beautiful places to make them appeal to those who’ll never visit anyway?
The Alps
For a melancholy example of the power of celebrity, head to the Alps. Since Michael Schumacher’s accident last December in…
