Port sunset
I once drank some excellent port at Ted Heath’s table. The invitation came as a surprise, but it almost certainly…
Dear Mary
Q. I have a public profile and have always looked after my personal presentation, but my identical twin has never…
Megan Rapinoe’s comeuppance
I’m loath to write about the current Fifa World Cup because criticising women’s football is textbook ‘misogyny’ – at least,…
Stop HS2 – I want to get off
I have two suggestions for HS2. Either stop it or make it stop. The spiralling cost and delays are reason enough…
Putin vs Pride
In an outstanding article in the New York Times, Roger Cohen recounted his experience of travelling across Russia for a…
Another beautiful layer of bureaucracy
‘Only boring people get bored’ is what we were all told as children. What we were not warned about was…
The hypocrisy of the Farage outcry
Much heartened by the barrage of criticism I’ve been receiving from both Spectator and Times readers, I’m returning to the…
Barometer
Scout’s honour Thousands of teenagers were evacuated from the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea as flooding, a heatwave and…
The turf
On no course in Britain does jockeyship count for more than at undulating, tricksy Goodwood and although Frankie Dettori was…
Real life
‘Come on, let’s get a move on with filling in all the forms and we could have this done and…
High life
Athens With energy bordering on the demonic, I strut around an ancient stadium trying to make up for…
50 not out
In 2015 Carlos Acosta announced his retirement from the Royal Ballet and the classical repertory. It seemed like the right…
Comedy gold
A chilly August in Edinburgh. Colder than it’s been for 20 years and the city looks scruffier than ever. Locked…
Losing the plot
The Reunion opened in 1997 with some young people being carefree: a fact they obligingly signalled by zipping around the…
Come let us adore them
It’s not just who our pop heroes are that marks the passing of the generations; it’s how those heroes present…
Fibre optics
Trophy office blocks designed as landmarks are not welcoming to humans; their glass and steel reception areas feel more suited…
