Mark Mason

A lot of Outside: the seafront at Southwold

Southwold Sailors’ Reading Room

15 July 2017 9:00 am

The Southwold Sailors’ Reading Room is a gorgeous bit of Inside. Like any coastal town, Southwold has an awful lot…

Winston Churchill’s favourite dinner guest

Kaspar the Savoy cat

13 May 2017 9:00 am

How to solve the problem of an unlucky 13 people at dinner? Developing a rational mind is the obvious answer,…

My towering problem

8 April 2017 9:00 am

Why don’t tall people get the same sympathy as short people? Everyone feels sorry for minnows, cutting them slack when…

The Suffolk side of the Stour

The Suffolk-Essex border

11 March 2017 9:00 am

You’ve already seen a picture of the Essex-Suffolk border. Assuming you’ve seen Constable’s ‘The Haywain’, that is: the Stour (the…

The Suffolk side of the Stour

The Suffolk-Essex border

9 March 2017 3:00 pm

You’ve already seen a picture of the Essex-Suffolk border. Assuming you’ve seen Constable’s ‘The Haywain’, that is: the Stour (the…

All human life is there

25 February 2017 9:00 am

This book kept reminding me of Robin Williams in One Hour Photo. Just as his character spied on customers’ private…

All human life is there

23 February 2017 3:00 pm

This book kept reminding me of Robin Williams in One Hour Photo. Just as his character spied on customers’ private…

Let’s not dance

18 February 2017 9:00 am

Why will people simply not believe you when you tell them that you don’t want to dance? Their reactions mimic…

Let’s not dance

16 February 2017 3:00 pm

Why will people simply not believe you when you tell them that you don’t want to dance? Their reactions mimic…

Let’s not dance

16 February 2017 3:00 pm

Why will people simply not believe you when you tell them that you don’t want to dance? Their reactions mimic…

British placenames

4 February 2017 9:00 am

British placenames are so good you can read the map for entertainment rather than navigation. Hardington Mande-ville, Bradford Peverell, Carlton…

A storm brewing over Hill Hill Hill

British placenames

2 February 2017 3:00 pm

British placenames are so good you can read the map for entertainment rather than navigation. Hardington Mande-ville, Bradford Peverell, Carlton…

A curse on silky teabags

3 December 2016 9:00 am

Inventor of the silky teabag, take a bow. You have achieved something that until now no one would have thought…

The milk of human kindness

12 November 2016 9:00 am

One of David Cameron’s choices on Desert Island Discs, this book reminds us, was ‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the…

Burlington Arcade

29 October 2016 9:00 am

It all began with oysters. Londoners used to eat them as they walked along, throwing away the shells much as…

Don’t whistle: Burlington Arcade

Burlington Arcade

27 October 2016 2:00 pm

It all began with oysters. Londoners used to eat them as they walked along, throwing away the shells much as…

Beautiful city, beautiful game…

13 October 2016 2:00 pm

The secret to keeping any relationship going is, of course, to see as little of each other as possible. We…

Aga can’t

17 September 2016 9:00 am

Earlier this year my partner paid several hundred thousand pounds for an Aga. There’s no other way of putting it.…

The Douro Valley

10 September 2016 9:00 am

They’re called quintas, Joana tells us, because the rich families who owned the land along this stretch of the Douro…

Paths to fulfillment

10 September 2016 9:00 am

You could say that this book contradicts itself. Robert Moor’s chosen topic is trails — not just walking, where you…

Don’t fear to tread: vineyards in the Douro Valley

The Douro Valley

8 September 2016 1:00 pm

They’re called quintas, Joana tells us, because the rich families who owned the land along this stretch of the Douro…

Straight talking

12 August 2016 11:00 pm

Thirty years ago this week, Queen performed what would turn out to be their last gig, at Knebworth. Their penultimate…

Maryland’s mean streets

30 July 2016 9:00 am

Quick tip, should you ever find yourself alone in the interview room at the police headquarters of Prince George’s County,…

Paul McCartney

5 May 2016 1:00 pm

It’s slightly galling, after years of sticking up for Paul McCartney, to read a new biography of the bloke and…

Paul McCartney

5 May 2016 1:00 pm

It’s slightly galling, after years of sticking up for Paul McCartney, to read a new biography of the bloke and…