Morse mania
As the cult series draws to its conclusion, Tanya Gold travels to Morsefest in Oxford
to meet the detective’s devoted followers
Low life
‘They say they can’t do it tomorrow. The papers haven’t come.’ Catriona, just back from the village, was shouting up…
Pursued by demons
After his mother’s murder, the teenage Ellroy seemed lost to speed and alcohol – until his discovery of crime writing led to a different addiction
Strange meeting
When distraught teenage Orla embarks on a secret pilgrimage to her mother’s grave, she meets a ‘mad hairy’ man with miraculous powers
A saint on the move
St Cuthbert’s body, rescued from the ‘devilish Danes’, is carried for hundreds of years to its eventual shrine in Durham cathedral
Back with a vengeance
Benjamin Netanyahu has won a staggering sixth term in office – but his alliance with the disreputable right is inching Israel close to catastrophe
The curious life of a curate
The Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie regales us with stories of mistaken identity, hymns with erotic undertones and an archbishop’s surprising take on Lenten penance
Nothing really matters
A mathematics professor, who specialises in the idea of nothing, is approached by a would-be Bond villain with a dastardly plan of annihilation
Promises, promises
But the big ideas seem mainly to consist in acquiring new skills – like boxing and baking – and flexing the imagination muscle
The argument that never ends
Nicholas Spencer insists they are – and his scientific knowledge is impressive. But do his religious arguments carry weight?
In the steps of the Master
Philip Hensher follows Noël Coward from precocious childhood to the vortex of fame
The rise of the Fifth Estate
In 1891, Oscar Wilde wrote: ‘In old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press. That is an improvement certainly.…
Power policy in parallel universes
This year Daniel Westerman will become a well-known if not much-loved public figure. In his role as the energy czar…
What has Putin done with Ukraine’s missing children?
Vladimir Putin’s crimes against Ukraine are often facilely compared with those committed by Hitler’s Nazis during World War Two. As…
You won’t hear these statistics on International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day (IWD) came and went, with morning teas and combative speeches. We heard about unconscious bias, injustice, imposter…
Snow problem: getting slushed in Verbier
“There’s no snow. Nothing.” The week after Christmas, 2023. Eager to ski, I’d phoned an old friend living in a…
Trump’s ultra-MAGA crew needs a reality check
In 2020, Democrats made a pragmatic if uninspiring choice in nominating Joe Biden. If this month’s Conservative Political Action Conference…
Can the UK economy outperform Russia?
First the good news. Unlike the IMF, which predicted in January that the UK economy would have a worse 2023…
Welcome to Big State Toryism
A million pounds is very small change in the context of wider government spending – especially compared to the £20…
The case against school uniform
On a normal morning in Winchester, the streets are crowded with sullen teenagers mooching in sleepy phalanxes to school, scruffy…
Pakistan deserves better than Imran Khan
Democracy and the rule of law have always struggled to take hold in Pakistan, a country in which no elected…
Why Macron doesn’t fear the Parisian street protests
France is on the brink of another revolution! The proles are swarming to the barricades and it’s only a matter…
Justin Welby’s gay marriage troubles could be about to get worse
After the hash the Church of England has made of the issue of same-sex marriage, a group of MPs led…
Is Putin’s security service under attack?
Few people in Rostov-on-Don will weep over the news that a local FSB building in the city caught fire yesterday.…
