Full stream ahead
From time to time, every industry must adapt to some inconvenient technological advance. Suddenly, some part of what you offer…
Garden tools
Hours of googling have left me unable to find the essay on domestic horticulture, written by a Victorian aristocrat, which…
Small wonders
The Tesla Model 3 is an astounding achievement, but one thing baffles me: why do electric cars lack even the…
When actions speak louder than words
For all the abuse heaped on the Behavioural Insights Team early in the crisis, let’s not forget that the only…
Have you caught the remote-working bug?
One of the few benefits to emerge from this pandemic is that the world’s population has been given a crash…
Anyone for a self-isolation Olympics?
In Mr Alton’s absence, I thought readers might want a column about sport. The problem is that I’m largely indifferent…
Travelling lite
The brother of a friend in Durban was once given a generous donation by a wealthy aunt. ‘I hate to…
The illusion of certainty
The newspapers are full of stories about how small groups of engineers from Formula 1 teams have been able to…
Ad infinitum
200 years of Spectator adverts show how little changes
Introverts, your country needs you
Once we’ve flattened the curve of infection with mass self-isolation, the next debate will concern how to soften the restrictions…
The bottom line
Compared with every other household chore, progress in bum-wiping has been glacially slow. It’s only in living memory that schools…
The rocketing success of Zoom
Next time there is a highly deserved round of public applause for NHS workers, do add one additional clap for…
Tech to plug in to while you’re self-isolating
For the past 12 years, Roger Alton and I have shared this half page like Box and Cox: he writes…
Titanic shifts
It wasn’t a coincidence that the US government chose Ellis Island as an immigration station. The crucial word is ‘island’.…
Why the BBC licence fee makes sense
A consensus seems to be forming that the BBC licence fee is for the chop. In a digital age, the…
Wireless disconnection
In the recent debate over Britain’s 5G infrastructure, one dog didn’t bark in the night. At no point did anyone…
Central reservations
Some years ago, two British supermarket chains needed to place a large order for replacement trollies. They had to decide…
The great train robbery
Outside mathematics, the word ‘commute’ can mean two things. Mostly it refers to the act of making a daily journey…
Something is badly wrong with the housing market – so why aren’t we talking about it?
In 1991, 67 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds owned their own home. In 2016, that figure had fallen to…
Technological progress is as messy as Darwinian evolution
There is a famous chart which shows the time it took for various technologies to be adopted by 50 million…
This year’s top gadgets – according to my inner chimp
I’d hoped to spend this week writing about my new Geberit Japanese-style toilet, but since the grout is not yet…
No one else has the weird levels of self-regard shown by people who appear regularly on TV
One of the more tedious tropes of recent years is for journalists to bemoan the rise of populism while busily…
How veganism became mainstream
I have just returned from Canada, which seems to share Britain’s new-found obsession with veganism. There, chains such as Burger…
How status seeking leads to bad decision-making
Whenever I use the security lane at an airport, I enjoy watching people retrieving their bags and metallic items when…
Plumbers always have the best restaurant recommendations
Whenever I use the security lane at an airport, I enjoy watching people retrieving their bags and metallic items when…
