Diary

Diary

5 October 2013 9:00 am

So mysterious, the Conservative party. In every poll, our five most admired institutions are the NHS, the BBC, the Royal…

Diary

28 September 2013 9:00 am

They say nothing beats the feeling of seeing your book in print. But for me, the proudest moment was presenting…

Diary

21 September 2013 9:00 am

The looming centenary of the outbreak of the first world war offers an opportunity to break away from the Blackadder/Oh!…

Diary

14 September 2013 9:00 am

‘Wider still and wider, may thy bounds be set,’ the ecstatic throng sang at the Last Night of the Proms.…

Diary

7 September 2013 9:00 am

Days ago, I’d have bet that even the most bitterly partisan Congress in generations would jib at humiliating their commander-in-chief.…

Diary

31 August 2013 9:00 am

It’s been a strange summer. After a stroke, holidays are not what they used to be. We went to Juan-les-Pins…

Diary

24 August 2013 9:00 am

There isn’t a Scottish politician in living memory who hasn’t been on the Caledonian Sleeper. I always imagined Donald Dewar…

Diary

17 August 2013 9:00 am

If you haven’t scuffled you haven’t lived, and our local scuffle is the best of the best. A scuffle is…

Diary

10 August 2013 9:00 am

Hay-making was easy this year, and over in good time for a holiday. I am opposed to holidays, having worked…

Diary

3 August 2013 9:00 am

The astonishing level of enthusiasm over the birth of the new prince goes far beyond the pleasure that people naturally…

Diary

27 July 2013 9:00 am

The pilot refuses to get going until everyone is seated and quiet. When we take off there are raucous cheers.…

Diary

20 July 2013 9:00 am

Next time I’m in a sauna I’m going to say: ‘It’s like a school sports hall on prize day in…

Diary

13 July 2013 9:00 am

The frantic promotion of the proposed HS2 rail line — a white elephant in the making — is a reminder…

Diary

6 July 2013 9:00 am

I began my week with a trip to Bridlington, the closest seaside town to my childhood home. ‘Brid’, as it’s…