True grit
In her memoir Time on Rock, Anna Fleming charts her progress from ‘terrified novice’ to ‘competent leader’ as she scales…
Smoking muskets and flashing daggers
The atmospheric medieval town of Rye on the south coast still celebrates being a former haunt of smugglers, and on…
Call of the wild
Francis Bacon sensed our inner beastliness and painted it with astonishing power, says Martin Gayford
2540: Recycling components
Eight unclued lights, arranged symmetrically, comprise two quartets, one of which makes the other go round. Across 1 How…
Low life
‘Sorry I’m late,’ I said to the big unit stationed behind her computer. She’s the chief, this one. She shows…
Disappearing doilies
This week marks the beginning of modernism season on BBC Radio 3 and 4, which means it’s time for some…
Real life
After launching an investigation into my missing phone, Vodafone informed me it could not deal with me any further until…
Crypto crash explained: what goes up must come down
‘Market turmoil’ looks set as the theme of the week, so let’s take a close look at a trading arena…
Gardening for pleasure and instruction
On 23 May 1804, two months before his daughter’s wedding, John Coakley Lettsom threw open his estate in Camberwell. Some…
Boom and bust
Moulin Rouge wins no marks for its storyline. A struggling Parisian theatre is bought out by an evil financier who…
How Boris escapes
When Omicron struck, Britain was already the most boosted country in Europe. Our programme was so advanced that 80 per…
Bridge
During lockdown I had a bit of a tidy-up and came across a Post-it note with the following statement written…
Get out of my way, Lycra warriors
I know that all must have prizes in the Victimisation Olympics these days, but when I heard a bicycle-rider on…
All that pizazz
Velvet waistcoats, technicolour tulle and some very spangly harem pants — English National Ballet’s atelier must have been mighty busy…
Helpmeet
‘What’s so funny?’ asked my husband, accusingly, as I made an amused noise while relaxing with a copy of the…
A work of art
Pedro Almodovar’s latest is a film about identity, secrets, lies, buried skeletons, real and metaphorical. But what you mainly need…
The blame games are about to begin
‘The main job of a government is to ensure that the economics don’t go wrong.’ So argued an economist friend…
High life
Gstaad Dinner parties are no longer verboten here, so I posed a question to some youngsters my son had over:…
Going downhill fast
As we digest another Ashes thrashing for England’s cricketers in Australia, and wonder whether the 1966 World Cup victory will…
Puzzle no. 687
Black to play. Grandelius–Rapport, Tata Steel Chess 2022. With a bishop resting on a3, the White king can never sit…
The freedom to be wrong
I must offer my support to Luke Main and Dr Joanna Brunker, who as a consequence of their fervent Christian…
The trouble with Auntie
An incalculable number of trees have been hewn down recently in order to provide paper for people writing lengthy, largely…
The Spectator’s Notes
Justin Webb is normally one of the least self-righteous BBC presenters, but he was out-Maitlising rivals on the Today programme…
Barometer
Prime numbers As of 29 January Boris Johnson will have been Prime Minister for two years and 190 days. Currently…
Lillie’s pad
The Cadogan hotel, Chelsea, is where Oscar Wilde was arrested for sodomy and gross indecency in 1895, in Room 118,…
