Online chess is the ultimate lockdown sport
How have you been filling these listless homebound hours we’ve been given by the government? I’ve been frittering them away…
This crisis could be the catalyst for a golden age of British theatre
The coronavirus crisis offers theatre a golden opportunity to break free of the structures that have held it back for years, says William Cook
Germans can laugh at Fawlty Towers, so why can't Brits?
Now UKTV (owned by the BBC) has removed the classic ‘Germans’ episode of Fawlty Towers from its playlist, this sorry…
I’m walking round Britain – in my back garden
What’s the best way to keep in shape during the lockdown? That’s the First World problem I’ve been using to…
Welder, banjo player, comedian, actor, and now artist – Billy Connolly interviewed
William Cook talks to Billy Connolly – welder, banjo player, comedian, actor, and now artist – about growing up in Glasgow, ditching the mike stand and living with Parkinson’s
Isolation forces us to work out what really matters
In tough times, people often discover their dauntlessness
Is there any better place for an EU-subsidised arts festival than Galway?
I was still digesting my delicious breakfast (kippers, poached eggs and soda bread — all local) when the sad news…
Is St Edmund’s body buried beneath a Suffolk tennis court?
Here in St Edmundsbury cathedral, a bunch of clerics and local bigwigs are preparing for a most unusual anniversary. Throughout…
Tsar quality: the charm of Tbilisi
‘These regions are not under the control of the central government,’ reads a warning on a map of Georgia in…
The Grand Union Canal, a serene sanctuary amid the urban sprawl
It was a Saturday afternoon in September, the end of summer, and I was feeling sorry for myself. I’d gone…
A bridge to the past: Tintagel’s complex history
Halfway across the brand new bridge that links the two halves of Tintagel Castle, there’s a gap where you can…
Alexander Waugh is the Brexit party’s most illustrious candidate
At the next General Election, the lucky constituents of Bridgwater and West Somerset will find an illustrious name on their…
Windermere, a voyage into Swallows and Amazons
‘A love of boats and sailing is the surest of all passports to a happy life,’ wrote Arthur Ransome. Standing…
Newmarket, where the fastest horses in the world thunder past
Standing on Warren Hill in the morning mist, watching Britain’s finest thoroughbreds thunder past, you realise what makes Newmarket so…
I watched Jadon Sancho grow up. That’s why I know he’s Britain’s next footballing megastar
How much is Jadon Sancho worth? Fifty million? A hundred million? As the speculation mounts, the numbers keep growing. Jadon…
In Constable’s ascension, Jesus just looks quite awkward
Constable painted only three religious paintings, and when you see the one in St Mary’s Church in Dedham you realise…
Auberon Waugh — a demon on the page, an angel off it
Auberon Waugh was happy to admit that most journalism is merely tomorrow’s chip paper but, of all the journalists of…
Beautiful untamed Trieste, aka the Capital of Nowhere
‘Welcome to the free territory of Trieste,’ reads the sign in the shop window. ‘US and UK come back!’ For…
Dreams of utopia before the Nazi nightmare
Today Munich is a prosperous and peaceful place — Germany’s most affluent, attractive city. Wandering its leafy avenues, lined with…
The Yorkshire town that’s gone from dirty old buildings to New Age nirvana
Bernard Ingham once told a story about a reporter from the Financial Times who went to cover an election in…
Hastings is pretty – but it’s the people who make it special
Kevin Boorman loves Hastings, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He was born here, he’s lived here all his life and…
The great outdoors is a short walk from your front door
When I read about the author on the flyleaf of this book, I must admit my heart sank: ‘Tristan has…
Big cities are all alike – it’s in New Jersey’s small towns that you feel like you’re really travelling
When my American friends invited us to stay with them in New Jersey, my 13-year-old daughter was thrilled. She’d never…
Becoming German has helped me understand Brexit
In the end, after all the waiting, the document didn’t look like much — a sheet of A4 paper adorned…
Southend-on-Sea has long been a running joke – until now
Standing at the end of Britain’s longest pier, on a cold and misty morning, looking out across the Thames Estuary,…
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