Notes on…
Skye
Glamour. It’s Marcello Mastroianni drinking negronis on the Via Veneto; it’s Audrey Hepburn, George Clooney, Sinatra on the Vegas Strip…
Ice cream
It was a mistake to tell us about the gelati-to-sightseeing ratio. This was the formula my father, his younger sister…
Ice cream
It was a mistake to tell us about the gelati-to-sightseeing ratio. This was the formula my father, his younger sister…
The gardens of Ninfa
I’ve just been given a personal tour of Ninfa by Monty Don. True, I had to share the thinking woman’s…
The gardens of Ninfa
I’ve just been given a personal tour of Ninfa by Monty Don. True, I had to share the thinking woman’s…
Holiday reading
Holidays are a welcome chance to lose ourselves between the covers of a book, especially for those of us who…
Holiday reading
Holidays are a welcome chance to lose ourselves between the covers of a book, especially for those of us who…
Passing through Bologna
Sooner or later, no matter where you are travelling on Italian railways, you are likely to pass through Bologna Centrale.…
Passing through Bologna
Sooner or later, no matter where you are travelling on Italian railways, you are likely to pass through Bologna Centrale.…
The Tour de France
On Saturday at Mont St Michel, the 103rd edition of the Tour de France begins, and the favourite to win…
The Tour de France
On Saturday at Mont St Michel, the 103rd edition of the Tour de France begins, and the favourite to win…
The misery of black tie
Men don’t look good in black tie. They might think that they look like Sean Connery in Dr No, but…
The misery of black tie
Men don’t look good in black tie. They might think that they look like Sean Connery in Dr No, but…
Gatton Park
Gatton Park is probably Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s least famous landscape. It is tucked away near Reigate Hill, just beyond the…
Gatton Park
Gatton Park is probably Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s least famous landscape. It is tucked away near Reigate Hill, just beyond the…
Royal Ascot
It’s time to scuttle under a rock if you are a Folkestone or Cornish crab: 7,000 of them will be…
Brodie Castle
Is there a more forlornly romantic spot in Britain than the moors east of Inverness where the Jacobite dream died?…
Brodie Castle
Is there a more forlornly romantic spot in Britain than the moors east of Inverness where the Jacobite dream died?…
The Romantic poets
People can be mightily protective of their Romantic poets. When I worked at the Keats Shelley House, overlooking the Spanish…
The Romantic poets
People can be mightily protective of their Romantic poets. When I worked at the Keats Shelley House, overlooking the Spanish…
Verdi
Verdi has a peculiar if not unique place in the pantheon of great composers. If you love classical music at…
Verdi
Verdi has a peculiar if not unique place in the pantheon of great composers. If you love classical music at…
Bullfighting
Looking at the programme for the feria of San Isidro in Madrid this month (bullfights are being held on 31…
Bullfighting
Looking at the programme for the feria of San Isidro in Madrid this month (bullfights are being held on 31…
Clumber spaniels
For the first time in more than 30 years we have no Clumber spaniel. We have had five: Henry, Judith,…
