Features
Bombs astray
Soon, soon, you will see a wondrous sight,’ says the Isis anthem, ‘for your destruction, my sword has been sharpened.…
The missing lynx?
Sometimes an idea is so barmy that worrying about it ever becoming reality seems pointless. So when the Labour MP…
Victory of the swashbucklers
On 14 June, a short email popped up in the inboxes of all Financial Times editorial staff. It came from…
Five Go Back to Blyton
Six years ago, the publishers Hachette took the well-meaning yet preposterous step of making ‘sensitive text revisions’ to Enid Blyton’s…
The Victoria and Albert
Thomas Hardy, while still married to his first wife Emma, but arranging assignations in London with Florence, his second-wife-to-be, used…
And from left to left we have…
Corbyn’s allies on the hard left are lining up to reform the Labour party. Some make him look like a…
The Victoria and Albert
Thomas Hardy, while still married to his first wife Emma, but arranging assignations in London with Florence, his second-wife-to-be, used…
Trump’s forgotten people
The fit, or fugue, that Hillary Clinton suffered during a 9/11 memorial service in Manhattan on Sunday left mysteries in…
Bad grammar
It is almost mandatory, if you want to discuss grammar schools, to swap personal histories. Here’s mine: I am the…
Hush money
The new consumer obsession of my generation isn’t white goods, trainers or designer labels. It is — whisper it —…
Archers abusers
It’s been going on for months now and I must make a confession. I secretly endure a nightly battering in…
Aga can’t
Earlier this year my partner paid several hundred thousand pounds for an Aga. There’s no other way of putting it.…
London’s lost rivers
I found my first of London’s many lost rivers when I walked across Holborn Viaduct, looked down at the sweep…
London’s lost rivers
I found my first of London’s many lost rivers when I walked across Holborn Viaduct, looked down at the sweep…
Brackish as old Brylcream
Kenneth Branagh’s obsession with Larry Olivier’s career is becoming such a bizarre act of theatrical necromancy that it deserves to…
Out but not down
No group of the population voted to remain in the EU more enthusiastically than students. According to the polling organisation…
The Brexit bounce
Next time it comes to redesigning the PPE course at Oxford, I suggest a module beginning with a quotation from…
Mugabe’s last gasp
Last week rumours swirled round Zimbabwe that Robert Mugabe, the 92-year-old president, had either died or been incapacitated. The government…
Corbyn the parasite
It’s a long way from Westminster to the banks of the Zambesi. But last week, for me, they linked up.…
Death of an anti-feminist
Phyllis Schlafly could have been America’s number one feminist. She graduated from good universities, wrote important books on serious topics,…
Mystery on Mount Athos
I have just returned from one of the world’s most secretive states. I had to apply for a visa a…
Confessions of a rent boy
I am not surprised that Keith Vaz has been caught sleeping with male hookers. I’m one myself and so I…
The Douro Valley
They’re called quintas, Joana tells us, because the rich families who owned the land along this stretch of the Douro…
Local heroes
In one village after another across the country, pubs are closing, as many as 25 a week by some counts,…
The Douro Valley
They’re called quintas, Joana tells us, because the rich families who owned the land along this stretch of the Douro…
