My phobia is not to be sneezed at
In January 1894, an assistant of Thomas Edison made a five-second silent film of Fred Ott taking snuff and then…
Why is the modern Church embarrassed by angels?
One day while walking in Peckham Rye Park, William Blake saw angels sitting in the trees: ‘bright angelic wings bespangled…
How postcards made Britain
Worse for drink, and lonely in his Hollywood apartment, F. Scott Fitzgerald sat down to write a postcard. He began,…
Whistling
There was, at least until recently, an old sign round the back of the Savoy banning whistling by staff or…
Prophesying doom
Janine di Giovanni’s book begins in a Paris apartment during the first lockdown. She’s at a friend’s home, which she…
‘My voice is a curse’
Steve Morris talks to Gary Numan about luck, plane-spotting and Asperger’s
Winkles
For the first time in 30-odd years, many Brits have started eating winkles again. Unable to holiday abroad this summer,…
First resort
The old-fashioned charm of holiday camps
Toby Jones on the allure of the everyman – and the glamour of coach-driving
Toby Jones shuffles into the café in Clapham where we are meeting. He’s wearing a duffle coat and a hat…
What a relief we can finally admit Jimmy Porter was a pain in the neck
Gary Raymond must have been wondering if it was the end of a promising career — curtains. He was starring…
