Sheer torture
Cock was written by Mike Bartlett in 2009 while he was in Mexico at a drama conference. The title suggests…
Pyramid schemes
Because I once made the mistake of dabbling in Egyptology, some ‘friend’ will schwack me every other week with a…
Mother’s Day
As ever, the Romans got there first. Their version of Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day was the feast of Juno…
How to save the Oscars
This Sunday’s Academy Awards will be a litmus test of whether Hollywood can uncouple itself from the political agenda of…
High life
Two weeks ago in St Moritz I ran into both Nicolas Niarchos and Nikolai von Bismarck, two talented young men…
The day I nearly brought RT down
It is interesting to watch Ofcom finally remove the broadcasting licence from the Russian propaganda channel Russia Today (RT). I…
Vernal
In Competition No. 3241, you were invited to submit a spring triolet. Banjo Paterson, the bard of the bush, had…
The moral of P&O: too many strategic assets in foreign hands
P & O once stood for ‘Peninsular and Oriental’, with pleasant connotations of sailings to Cadiz and Constantinople – but…
For the chop
Blacklock is the fourth restaurant of that name – there are others in Soho, Shoreditch and the City of London.…
Cirencester
‘Half! Half! Half!’ exclaimed my husband like a performing sea lion. Not that sea lions perform any more, but you…
What I learnt in sex education
The state of Florida recently passed a piece of legislation making it illegal for teachers to hold discussions with pupils…
Raging against God
Patriarch Kirill is Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church; and one of his…
‘I had no interest in the theatre whatsoever’
Lloyd Evans talks to Keith Allen about Max Bygraves, how he fell into acting and the sensitivities of contemporary audiences
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. My husband has developed an irksome habit whenever he goes abroad without me. We have cameras outside the house…
Solution to 2545: With a twist
Suggested by 41, the other unclued lights were worms entered backwards in the grid. To comply with the preamble, 6…
England-Sweden Challenge
Three summers ago, I was invited to the Swedish city of Eskilstuna, for a brief but exciting match against their…
Sunak’s choice
The Office for Budget Responsibility was designed to protect the Chancellor from accusations that he is cooking the books. If…
Real life
The window of the new shop was as brightly coloured as a circus entrance, and stuffed full of items bearing…
The Spectator’s Notes
Zakhar Prilepin is a well-known novelist in Russia and an ultra-nationalist warrior in Donbas. Once a member of the National…
Last-minute reprieve
A bully-boy leader. A corrupt, out-of-touch regime. A twisted reading of history. An unprovoked, military-led landgrab. A domestic disinformation blitz.…
Letters
Don’t blame the banks? Sir: Kate Andrews struggles to disentangle the causes of the developing cost-of-living crisis (‘Cold truth’, 19…
A dicey business
When I was 14 my father took me to a bookmaker’s and encouraged me to place a bet. He wanted…
Around the world in 80 studios
Picture the artist’s studio: if what comes to mind is the romantic image of a male painter at his easel…
Portrait of the week
Home Britain had provided Ukraine with more than 4,000 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons, the Ministry of Defence said. Shell…
