Columns
Talking to a brick wall at the National Trust
Press officers, breathe easy. This is not another column attacking the National Trust. Actually, I tell a lie. It is.…
How to burst the grade inflation bubble
The Tories regard a return to rigorously marked exams as one of their big achievements in education. In 2010, the…
Putting the commie in committee
Last month an epidemiologist called Professor Michael Baker described the UK government’s decision to free its people from Covid restrictions…
Is burglary on the rise again?
Long before the official numbers began to rise, back in 2014, it was clear that knife crime was on the…
Don’t pick a fight with the SNP
Since the Holyrood elections in May, the campaign for Scottish independence has been noticeably quiet. But that is about to…
Looking for enchantment
Most social occasions now seem to kick off with a wasted hour or two. The time is spent discussing Covid:…
Everywhere is Somewhere
I’m off. In the week when you may read this, my partner and I will be winging our way to…
An unhealthy app-etite
As I begin, I’m tortured by the doo-do-doo-do of The Twilight Zone’s theme music. I’ve hurtled back in time. Suddenly…
Boris’s last shot
Last week there was acute concern in government about the country’s re-opening. Would restrictions need to be reimposed when schools…
The sorry state of the modern apology
I think I would like to apologise for this article in case someone who reads it takes offence. I will…
World gone lazy
‘Where’s the car?’ said my wife Alice, interrupting my Zoom meeting on Saturday morning. ‘It’s where you left it,’ I…
Will England pull out of the World Cup?
I wonder if the moral guardians of our country — the England football team — intend to participate in the…
The tax-and-spend Tories
When you ask a government minister why something hasn’t happened, you get a one-word answer: ‘Covid’. It has become the…
Get ready for the Boring Twenties
Earlier this year, I noted the suggestion (made by an American academic and run with by a swathe of the…
What did the Romans ever do for us?
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is planning to install a statue of John Chilembwe in Trafalgar Square. Mr Chilembwe…
Don’t count on America’s immigration figures
Having indulged an unhealthy interest in human migration for decades, I’ve been intrigued by how the number of illegal immigrants…
The march of the unwhippables
‘Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won,’ wrote the Duke of Wellington after…
The death of a dream
Before plunging into a vexed question, it’s sometimes wise to point out that one is aware how vexed it is.…
What price freedom?
The long-awaited easing of restrictions will not be the triumphant moment that many expected back in May. The Delta variant…
Me, myself and I
I thought that this week I would share with you a bunch of words and phrases which are currently overused…
The bogus business of stigma-busting
Our society is bristling with social stigmas, we’re told, even in the progressive West, even in London. Life is so…
The confusing case of Oli London
Not everyone will have heard of Oli London, a British social media influencer who made news for two reasons last…
The political baggage of moving house
We are currently house-hunting — please let me know if you have one going spare. We are looking for a…
Immigration figures don’t add up
Journalists filing to deadline are apt to dig only so deep when googling for statistics, which in themselves are sometimes…
A boat trip back through time
I was looking forward to my dinner at Daquise in South Kensington, a Polish restaurant that’s been there for ever…
