High life
The joys of uninhabitable islands
Isle of Patmos Two hundred years ago last March, the Greeks rose up against the hated Turks who had occupied…
In praise of Patmos
Patmos I’m in Patmos with four grandchildren, two children, and a wife. I know, I know, it sounds very lower–middle-class…
A brief history of harlots
I write this as a follow-up to last week’s essay on muzzling after making whoopee. I’m on my way to…
How to have an affair
Gstaad After six-and-a-half months apart, I had no trouble recognising my wife. Out she came on to the driveway to…
The art of Dolly Parton’s bra
New York I hope this is my last week in the Bagel. I plan to fly first to Switzerland and…
A nicer side of Nero
New York I haven’t felt such shirt-dripping, mind-clogging wet heat since Saigon back in 1971. The Bagel is a steam…
In praise of chastity
New York It’s party time in the Bagel, or at least private party time. Yours truly is an extra man…
Why night-clubbing in New York is a risky business
New York The acerbic writer Gore Vidal was once asked which period of history he would choose to have lived…
New York resembles a war zone
New York The Big Bagel is getting so bad that even the baddies are demanding the fuzz do something. As…
I can finally spill the beans about Halston and Princess Margaret
New York Already on your idiot box via Netflix is a mini-series about a man who also used one name,…
Why Mick Jagger is an insult to rock
New York Orthodox Easter Sunday came late in May this year, and I spent it at an old friend’s Fifth…
The school that made an American century
New York With the Karamazovian hangover now only a weekly occurrence, the healthy life rules supreme. Well, most of the…
The unsavoury truth about American sport
New York What follows has been covered ad nauseam, but I wonder why people were surprised at the planned breakaway…
We need Voltaire more than ever
New York The high life has gone with the wind because of you know what. The last time I went…
My return to New York is a mixed blessing
New York Ha, ha! What London turned down, the Bagel accepted with alacrity, namely the poor little Greek boy. And…
Remembering one of the last great Americans
It takes a very good writer to produce prose that provokes an emotional response in a reader, even when it…
My password amnesia got me into hot water
Chelsea/Gstaad Oh, to be in England! But let’s start at the beginning. I challenge any reader to claim they are…
Mother Nature is giving us her middle finger
Gstaad I have never experienced such a long, continuous blizzard, and I’ve been coming here for 63 years. The ski…
I was Oprah Winfrey’s hero
Gstaad Some of you may have noticed that I have not commented at all about the ongoing soap opera and…
Tales from my private jet
Gstaad I was very sad to read of Rupert Hambro’s death. I didn’t know him well, but first met him…
Raymond Chandler and his contrarian cat Taki
Gstaad That’s all we needed in a great year: copyright has expired on The Great Gatsby. Some Fitzgerald wannabe has…
Is it time to cancel Sophocles?
Gstaad The sun has returned, the snow is so-so, and exercise has replaced everything, including romance. What a way to…
The lost magic of Palm Beach
Gstaad Good old Helvetia. I’m quitting her for the rainy but pleasant land of England. The cows are beginning to…
An elegy on the end of elegance
Gstaad During these dark, endless periods of lockdown, let’s take a trip down memory lane to a time when we…
The dying art of sports commentary
Taki 3 July 2021 9:00 am
Wimbledon is here at last, after its absence in 2020. What struck me watching the French Open on television a…