In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.
The rise of groomzilla
We had been engaged for maybe three weeks before it became apparent I’d be the one throwing hysterical wedding-related hissy…
Five-star fantasy
Tom Cruise is an exceptionally beautiful American man with an invincible smile, but he is a member of a cult…
ADD
The post ADD appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Royal Ascot
It’s time to scuttle under a rock if you are a Folkestone or Cornish crab: 7,000 of them will be…
Trump
The post Trump appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
The man who changed the world
On 31 October 1517, as every child once knew, an obscure German monk nailed his 95 theses to the door…
Football
The post Football appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
El Sid
Was there life before darts? I am old enough, just about, to remember such a time. One minute, in or…
New
The post New appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Far from ideal
There were few subjects which escaped Oscar Wilde’s barbed wit: dentists, cynics, Americans, literary critics, democracy, the working classes, the…
The sport of kings
Queen Victoria disapproved heartily of the racing set and of her son Bertie’s involvement in the sport. But she must…
Del-con notes
After Turnbull, who? With three weeks to the election, and the government still labouring despite what should have been a…
The leap
This week the Prime Minister devoted a speech to what he regarded as six lies being told by his opponents…
Scarred by the past
In Indonesia in 1965–6 half a million communists and supposed communist sympathisers were murdered by a range of civilian and…
Edgehogs
Last week, commenting on Nigel Davies’s new book The Pirc Move by Move (Everyman Chess), I wrote about my win…
One country, two worlds
In October 1964, Charles de Gaulle visited Brazil. The country was six months into its military dictatorship. In April of…
Minus one
In Competition No. 2951 you were invited to remove a letter from a well-known book title and submit an extract…
A terrible beauty
It was only when I left Western Australia for university in England that I understood how vast and dangerous my…
To 2261: Long Jump
Clifton Fadiman wrote that cheese was ‘MILK’S LEAP TOWARDS IMMORTALITY’ (3/4/18). The remaining unclued lights (16, 21, 25, 35, 44…
Love for sale
The premise of Kat Banyard’s Pimp State is a familiar one: sex work — a phrase the author rejects as…
The Battle for Britain
The post The Battle for Britain appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment…
That glowing feeling
On the morning of 15 October 1927, a dim, autumn day, a group of men foregathered at the Rosedale cemetery…
The pain of being second-best
The boys at Radio 5, bless ’em, are now including the EU referendum as part of their sports trailers. As…
Tales of Mr Tod
Have you ever considered tying a fox’s penis to your head? Well no, nor have I, but if you suffer…
Un-Italian job
I have been waiting, like a heroine in fiction, for the specialist lasagne restaurant. London has long been heading this…
Editor’s picks
Magazine
Coalition must U-turn on X
Kudos to Senator Ralph Babet and to One Nation for opposing this tyrannical abomination
