Notes on…
After five days of being snowed in, awe and wonder starts to wear off
It took three hours for cabin fever to set in. Last Christmas, snowed in at the Oxfordshire homestead, my brother…
St Martin-in-the-Fields: the ‘Church of the Ever Open Door’
St Martin’s really did once stand in the fields, just as nearby Haymarket was a market selling hay. But the…
The Isle of Grain
Perched on the edge of the Medway about 15 miles from Rochester is the Isle of Grain, a mass of…
In defence of Patricia Highsmith
A new play, Switzerland, which opened in the West End this month, seems to have demonised Patricia Highsmith once again.…
The Roman road that came to define Britain
All roads lead to Rome, the saying goes. Well, all roads except for the Roman road of Watling Street, which…
The guilty pleasure of the McDonald’s drive-thru
My wife and I have a set routine after landing back at Gatwick. We collect our bags, clear customs and…
The Dengie Hundred
J. A. Baker, an arthritic and short-sighted birdwatcher from Chelmsford, compared the British wilderness to ‘the goaded bull at bay,…
The beauty – and eccentric parsons – of Cornwall’s wild north-east coast
The first time I encountered Morwenstowe on Cornwall’s wild north-west coast I was alone. It was early spring and the…
Notes on Davenports Magic Shop, an emporium for serious conjurors
It’s a very fitting place for a magic shop. Hidden away in the maze of pedestrian tunnels that lead from…
Break out the daiquiris, home bars are back in vogue
When I mention to people that I have written a book about home bars, the most common response is, ‘my…
Discovering Thomas Mann by motorbike
In Thomas Mann’s astonishing novel The Magic Mountain the indolent young Hans Castorp visits his brave, terminally ill soldier cousin…
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…
Second best: Why runners up are more interesting than those who come first
Who was the second prime minister? Everyone knows Robert Walpole was the first. Firsts get all the fame and glory.…
There’s a reason Unst is called the island above all others
‘I’d like a copy of the Times,’ said the visitor from the south. ‘Yesterday’s or today’s?’ the shopkeeper asked. ‘Today’s,…
Tales of UFOs and mysterious big cats come as standard in Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase is the long, low range of hills that’s visible to your right as you drive north up the…
Battersea Power Station deserves its glossy makeover – but I’ll miss its crumbling glamour
Battersea Power Station once generated nearly a fifth of London’s power. It must have hummed and clanked almost as much…
The highs – and lows – of learning to fly a kite
I’ve flown only three kites in my life. My stepfather bought me the first. I remember seeing him from a…
Tilbury Docks, where cranes meet Joseph Conrad
The great grey river stretched into the horizon. The sun was big and low in the sky. The air was…
British street names: short, simple and unpretentious
You know where you are with a British street name. I don’t mean literally. I mean there’s a tacit humility…
The perfect way to spend two days in New York
In Britain I never drink cocktails, but on arrival in New York it has become a ritual that my first…
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…
How easy is it to break into the Bank of England?
‘Safe as the Bank of England.’ So goes the old phrase. And yes, with walls 8ft thick, the Old Lady…
Alpacas – the latest must-have wedding accessory
Of all the window displays in Amsterdam this spring there was just one that stopped me in my tracks. I…
Tip the staff – and don’t bitch by the pool: how to be the perfect house guest
Come to our house in France, say generous friends, come to Italy, come fishing. ‘How wonderful, what shall we bring?’…
Who really wants to read feminist children’s books?
A friend of mine who commissions book reviews has added a sub-category to the list of titles coming up: ‘femtrend’,…
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