The pandemic’s invisible victims
I sometimes pick up some food at Tesco for an 86-year-old pensioner who lives a few streets over. At the…
Are you a lockdown eel or a pygmy goat?
I identify strongly with the garden eels in the Tokyo aquarium. Pre-corona, they were perfectly sociable. Come opening hour, when…
Getting coronavirus does not bring clarity
I had thought that actually getting the coronavirus would bring clarity — that there would be some satisfaction in meeting…
The world of make-believe is stranger than we realise
Last summer, in the bc era, I took my then three-year-old to a new group play session: ‘Lottie’s Magic Box.’…
Why did no one believe Johnny Depp?
When it was first reported that Johnny Depp had been hit and pelted with crockery by his slight, blonde then…
Vampire squids are killing Britain’s B&Bs
More and more of us are staying home for our holidays — but even so, our small hotels and B&Bs…
Why I changed my mind about Catholicism
I grew up in a traditional English family, surrounded by cousins, chivvied by aunts, presided over by my grandmother, who…
Why is no one admiring Debbie Harry’s resilience?
Debbie Harry, Blondie’s lead singer, has written a memoir in which she relates, in her usual deadpan, punk-rock way, the…
Are you tingle-minded? The rapid rise of ASMR
I once had a flatmate called Tom, who behaved very oddly when our cleaner came round. On mornings when she…
Why do we keep pretending that children are wiser than adults?
We’ve begun to behave as if young people are special; more virtuous and wiser than adults. It’s wrong and it’s…
Will Greta Thunberg win the Nobel Peace Prize? I really hope not
We’ve begun to behave as if young people are special; more virtuous and wiser than adults. It’s wrong and it’s…
The screaming souls on London’s streets
When I first moved to London N1 four years ago, no one seemed to notice let alone discuss all the…
The reason middle-class parents are so anxious
On that record-breaking, sweltering day at the end of July, my three-year-old son did a pirouette in the paddling pool…
Abandoning stop and search would be abandoning a generation of kids
It was somehow inevitable that shortly after Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick announced a fall in violent crime, there would…
Why vegans must not own cats
Is it ethical for vegans to own cats? It’s an interesting question because vegans look set to take over —…
Natural England is overwhelmed – and farmers are paying the price
Last week, on the first day of the government’s ban on farmers shooting pest birds, I walked across St James’s…
My friend’s death taught me what Easter really means
The bravest thing I’ve ever seen was 93-year-old Albert’s decision to die and the days after in which he stuck…
There’s an arms race underway – between headphones and musak
I live with a ghost, or rather, I share an address with a man who’s been dead for many years.…
‘If I get an adrenaline rush, something’s gone wrong’: An interview with Free Solo’s Alex Honnold
My husband, usually a cool customer, watched Free Solo from behind his fingers, sometimes jumping up from the sofa and…
The scent of London has changed: all I can smell now is cannabis
Fewer people are smoking cannabis these days, down to 1.4 million from two million, they say. I say, if you…
Benedict Cumberbatch on playing my husband, Dominic Cummings
Imagine looking at a photo of a stranger and feeling in response, quite naturally, the sort of happy affection you…
Neil MacGregor: belief is what holds a society together
‘But what must it be like for the fish?’ We’re talking about cormorants, Neil MacGregor and I, and the spectacular…
I admit it – I’m a smartphone addict
I am often extremely dismissive of people immersed in their smartphones. I tut at the mole-ish pedestrians who step out…
What Mills & Boon can teach us in the age of #MeToo
In celebration of its 110th birthday, I downloaded a Mills & Boon — The Greek Tycoon’s Blackmailed Mistress — and…
The objects that sound witchiest on paper just look sad: Spellbound reviewed
Just in front of me, visiting Spellbound at the Ashmolean last week, was a very rational boy of about seven…
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