Notes on…
Why Gen Z worships the pickle
If something can be squeezed into a jar with brine, Polish grandmas will do it. Walk into the kitchen of…
What makes a good obituary?
My obituaries habit gets ever stronger. I find there’s nothing as inspiring or instructive or entertaining as reading a few…
Gossip is good for you… so I’m told
The Pope hates gossip. In his Christmas message to his Vatican advisers last year, Francis warned that it is ‘an…
Confessions of a Costco Guy
Those who use TikTok, or are familiar with Ed Davey’s dance routines on social media, may have heard of the…
How to serve smelt
Donald Trump has form with the smelt. In his 2016 presidential run, he complained that California’s authorities were prioritising the…
Claudia Winkleman understands the power of a cape
The cape is having a moment thanks to the Highland wardrobe of Claudia Winkleman, who is currently presenting The Traitors…
The unwritten rules of visitors books
Two things come to mind when I think about visitors books. The first is the memory of leaving the home…
What carols owe to Martin Luther
It’s 500 years since Martin Luther, along with the preacher Paul Speratus, put together the first Protestant hymn book, the…
The many faces of pigs in blankets
There are not many phrases that offend me more than ‘pigs in blankets’. The correct name for this dish is,…
The rise and fall of Smithfield Market
Smithfield has been the beating heart of London’s meat industry for more than 800 years. Located at the middle point…
Babycham is back!
Babycham, the drink you perhaps last sipped while tapping the ash from a black Sobranie as Sade played on the…
The thrill of the Beaujolais Run
‘Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!’ If that phrase means anything to you, you’re likely of a vintage that remembers pre-Clarkson…
My time as the speaking clock
Ask young people today if they know that they can dial a number to hear the time and you would…
Toffee apples: a dangerous food for frightening nights
Bonfire night is more about burning Catholics than haute cuisine and it shows. I’ve always felt for Catholic friends at…
Halloween is the time for fairies
Among the many options available for Halloween costumes and decorations these days, from witches to zombies, from mummies to serial…
Make pirates scary again
If there’s one thing to bring out your inner Herod, it’s the twee tendency in younger children’s books. It’s at…
The art of swearing
Sometimes it’s the only word that will do. Every journalist at Max Verstappen’s press conference last month understood him perfectly…
Bring back the stiffy!
The other day, clearing out boxes, I stumbled on a sheaf of invitations from childhood. Decorated with trains and fairies,…
Trams make a comeback
Earlier this month, the fortunate folk of Frankfurt were entertained by the 11th annual tram-drivers competition, with entries from 26…
Cheers to corkscrews!
For the first 50 years of the corked bottle, there was no easy way to get into it. The combination…
How to roll the perfect cigarette
I recently estimated that, in my smoking life so far and at the age of 29, I have rolled 87,600…
Bring back the briefcase!
The final straw was seeing Jeremy Hunt wearing one shortly before the summer recess – and not just when riding…
The unappetising truth about tasting menus
The tasting menu has fallen from fashion, and this is good. They are a curio – a window to the…
A connoisseur’s guide to collecting matchboxes
We’d been told it would be a ‘brat’ summer, characterised by its inventor, the singer Charli XCX, as ‘a pack…
How bus travel lost its magic
At the former Chiswick Works in west London, I recently celebrated the Routemaster’s 70th birthday. I owe my existence to…