Ivory towers
Great novels rarely make great movies, but for half a century one director has been showing all the others how…
West Middlewick Farm
In springtime in our family, we always have the same old argument: where should we go on our summer holiday…
Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down
Two 16-year-old schoolgirls from a sink estate in Bradford find fun and happiness by shacking up with a middle-aged married…
Ruislip Lido
Most mornings, if I’m not too hung-over, I go for a run around Ruislip Lido — a mile there, through…
Europe’s best hope
Go into any high street bookshop and find the European history section. There’s usually a shelf or two on France…
The suburban battleground
In Westminster, all the general election chatter is about Brexit. Will Tory Remainers turn Lib Dem? Will Labour leavers desert…
Haus of ill repute
Here in Munich, in the gallery that Hitler built, this year’s big hit show is a spectacular display of modern…
Haus of ill repute
Here in Munich, in the gallery that Hitler built, this year’s big hit show is a spectacular display of modern…
Morocco: A match made in heaven
I’m sitting by the pool in a lush Moroccan garden playing chess with Nigel Short, and I feel like an…
Zurich’s wild side
On the green edge of Zurich, where this neat and tidy city melts into neat and tidy countryside, an icon…
Zurich’s wild side
On the green edge of Zurich, where this neat and tidy city melts into neat and tidy countryside, an icon…
Secrets of the universe
A few years ago, in Berne, I visited the apartment where Einstein wrote his theory of special relativity, which changed…
Berlin: The return of German pride?
On a windswept square beside the river Spree, across the road from Berlin’s Museum Island, there is a brand new…
Who comes after Merkel?
A year from now, 60 million Germans go to the polls in the most important general election in mainland Europe…
From bored to boarding
Thirty-five years ago, shortly after my 16th birthday, my parents finally got fed up with me and packed me off…
Of microbes and men
Which disease are you most scared of catching: Ebola or influenza? Before I read this medical memoir, I would have…
Lessons from Utopia
As anniversaries go, the timing could hardly be more apt. As Europe braces itself for the next Islamist attack, the…
Lessons from Utopia
As anniversaries go, the timing could hardly be more apt. As Europe braces itself for the next Islamist attack, the…
The Heckler: those who doubt the brilliance of Phil Collins are snobs
Three boos for those rotten spoilsports who started an online petition against Phil Collins coming out of retirement (there’s already…
The Heckler: those who doubt the brilliance of Phil Collins are snobs
Three boos for those rotten spoilsports who started an online petition against Phil Collins coming out of retirement (there’s already…
Lost in space
In a converted barn in Dorset, not far from the rural studio where she made many of her greatest sculptures,…
Lost in space
In a converted barn in Dorset, not far from the rural studio where she made many of her greatest sculptures,…
Christmas markets
Why the fuss about German Christmas markets? Surely they’re just schmaltzy shanty towns, full of stuff you’d never dream of…
What is it about Bill Viola’s films that reduce grown-ups to tears?
Even the most down-to-earth people get emotional about Bill Viola’s videos. Clare Lilley of Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) seems close…
Hitler’s émigrés
Next week Frank Auerbach will be honoured by the British art establishment with a one-man show at Tate Britain. It’s…
