Diary
Diary
The long-discussed meeting between a group of climate scientists and Fellows of the Royal Society on the one side, and…
Diary
I’ve worked for the BBC for years and have been listening to the Today programme all my adult life, but…
Diary
For a minute I just stood there with my back against the wall, staring at the credit card receipt. Then…
Diary
Hard on the heels of the 90th birthday of Nicholas Parsons (10 October) comes the 65th birthday of the Prince…
Diary
Researching a new book on Shakespeare’s sonnets, I stumbled upon an astonishing piece of hitherto unnoticed evidence in a 16th-century…
Diary
The last time I wrote for The Spectator I was sitting in a prison cell. I sent the then editor…
Diary
ONE OF THE MINOR sociological treats of being appointed shadow education secretary is a frontbench view of David Cameron’s crimson…
Diary
A great night to be in Pittsburgh. The local baseball team, the Pirates, were attempting to reach their first play-offs…
Diary
So mysterious, the Conservative party. In every poll, our five most admired institutions are the NHS, the BBC, the Royal…
Diary
They say nothing beats the feeling of seeing your book in print. But for me, the proudest moment was presenting…
Diary
The looming centenary of the outbreak of the first world war offers an opportunity to break away from the Blackadder/Oh!…
Diary
‘Wider still and wider, may thy bounds be set,’ the ecstatic throng sang at the Last Night of the Proms.…
Diary
Days ago, I’d have bet that even the most bitterly partisan Congress in generations would jib at humiliating their commander-in-chief.…
Diary
It’s been a strange summer. After a stroke, holidays are not what they used to be. We went to Juan-les-Pins…
Diary
There isn’t a Scottish politician in living memory who hasn’t been on the Caledonian Sleeper. I always imagined Donald Dewar…
Diary
If you haven’t scuffled you haven’t lived, and our local scuffle is the best of the best. A scuffle is…
Diary
Hay-making was easy this year, and over in good time for a holiday. I am opposed to holidays, having worked…
Diary
The astonishing level of enthusiasm over the birth of the new prince goes far beyond the pleasure that people naturally…
Diary
The pilot refuses to get going until everyone is seated and quiet. When we take off there are raucous cheers.…
Diary
Next time I’m in a sauna I’m going to say: ‘It’s like a school sports hall on prize day in…
Diary
The frantic promotion of the proposed HS2 rail line — a white elephant in the making — is a reminder…
Diary
I began my week with a trip to Bridlington, the closest seaside town to my childhood home. ‘Brid’, as it’s…
