Status anxiety
The hopes and fears of all the years
When I first suggested to my closest male friends that we have a boys’ Christmas lunch, it didn’t occur to…
How I lost the battle of the cards
I’ve just had a massive row with Caroline about Christmas cards. We usually send about 120 and this year we’ve…
The path not taken
Damn and blast. I was quite keen on becoming the Conservative candidate for Hammersmith, but the timing isn’t going to…
My life as a litter monitor
The think tank Policy Exchange has just published an excellent report on Britain’s urban green spaces called ‘Park Land’. The…
Hunt saboteurs
I love The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year Awards. On the face of it, they’re a great advertisement for just…
Fighting dirty
Why is local politics so much dirtier than national politics? Is it because the players are fighting over relatively trivial…
Waiting for Waitrose
Five years ago I joined forces with some local worthies to object to the opening of a strip joint on…
Family matters
The first sign that something was wrong with Ludo was when he complained of a tummy ache. This was after…
Am I in denial about turning 50?
By the time you read this I’ll be 50. A couple of years ago, when President Obama passed this milestone,…
Have I gone to the wrong party?
I’m still weighing up whether to run for Parliament, but after this week’s reshuffle I’ve concluded I’m in the wrong…
Miliband’s empty outrage
I’m writing this from the Conservative party conference in Manchester, but it’s Ed Miliband I want to discuss. In particular,…
Welcome to fishmageddon
I should never have agreed to buy Sasha fish for her tenth birthday. But it seemed like such a modest…
Why I want my schools to ban the burka (and the miniskirt)
For most people, the question of whether to ban the burka is a purely theoretical one. Not for me. As…
To the Slaughter
I was at a surprise birthday party for a member of the cabinet last week when a Conservative minister spotted…
I’m thinking of going into politics
The Hammersmith Conservative Association will shortly be looking for a candidate to run against the sitting Labour MP in 2015…
Sorry, Rayhan Uddin, but your comprehensive didn’t teach you how to think
An acquaintance of mine called Daisy Christodoulou has just published a book called Seven Myths about Education. It’s a merciless…
In the end, everybody pays
Character is destiny, according to Heraclitus, and that becomes increasingly clear as you get older and chart the ups and…
Let me dream on
I’m currently in Cornwall with my family and whenever I spend a lot of time with my children I’m constantly…
The myths of the English countryside
One of the great things about spending the summer holidays in England is that it gives you an opportunity to…
Britain is now a socialist utopia
Scarcely a day passes, it seems, without another book landing with a thud on my desk that bemoans the rise…
Royally entertaining
Seeing the royal hack pack in full cry on Monday reminded me of the week I spent with the late…
A theatre critic at the school play
‘Another opening, another show,’ sang five-year-old Charlie on his way to school this morning — and then proceeded to belt…
Old friends and new
A few years ago, I got the shock of my life when a girl I was sitting next to at…
Apple scrumping
Caroline and I were watching The Fall in our front room when the intruder entered our house. Not great timing…
