Life
A toast to the heroic French firefighters
Provence ‘Imbeciles! I told them! When the fire comes on the hill there, it always goes that way… did they…
My week of pure hedonism
As seen in the Times I’m fiddling with my phone when a news notification pops up. Another independent school has…
Does Yogi Bear have a connection to yoga?
‘Well, we all have areas of ignorance,’ said my husband with a little too much relish, I thought. He was…
Spectator Competition: Slave to the ’rithm
Competition 3462 invited you to submit a short story in which the protagonist lets an algorithm take charge of their…
Throw away your keyboard
The older and more plutocratic among you may remember the unlamented business-class airline seat of the 1980s and 1990s. Every…
Confessions of a dog hater
‘Do you like animals?’ asked the woman at the door, collecting for a zoo. ‘No, I hate them, they keep…
Dear Mary: what is the proper way ‘to shoot grouse’?
Q. I have a good relationship with a neighbour. She has a labrador and I have a Jack Russell. If…
Language
The news report said that drugs and a number of weapons including grenades were seized during a police raid on…
Aussie life
On Dr Anthony Fauci’s watch, the USA became one of the sickest wealthy nations in the world, despite spending twice…
I could never dislike Rod – even when he threatened to punch me
I remember being in The Spectator’s offices on a Tuesday afternoon not long ago when I noticed a group of…
Grasshopper Pie is like a teenage fever dream
Grasshopper pie is an unlikely dish: bright green, mint-flavoured, combined with obscure liqueurs and set with marshmallows, all sitting in…
How to drink at airports
Walking through Gatwick airport recently, it was heartening to see so many bleary-eyed travellers enjoying a pre-flight drink in the…
Dear Mary: did fat jabs ruin my party?
Q. I have inherited a small estate which includes a few houses in my village. I was initially very pleased…
We’re not morally superior to Fifa
Watching football work itself into a lather of self-righteousness is never a pretty sight. The English FA is now back-pedalling…
Did someone say climate change?
As seen in the Daily Telegraph I am sitting in my living room watching Songs of Praise, when a sudden…
Should you give a toss about ‘toss’?
Modern Toss was invented in 2004 as the label for a series of cartoons by Jon Link and Mick Bunnage.…
Meet Lambourn’s ‘most terrifying’ trainer
When you drive up the hill past the Ridgeway from Ashbury, the sweeping Berkshire Downs open up in front of…
Why have the Rolling Stones not been cancelled?
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna I was on my way to buy a bougainvillea from the plant shop with my middle son,…
Spectator Competition: Cringe benefits
For Competition 3461 you were asked to submit toe-curling analogies.This invitation produced a stream of entries that were glorious in…
