The Dambusters raid was great theatre — but almost entirely pointless
The great bomber pilot Guy Gibson had a black labrador with a racist name. This shouldn’t matter, except Gibson loved…
Carry on up the Zambezi
I loved this book so much I was appalled. Why, when bookshops are stacked full of memoirs by authors who…
On photography, shrines and Maradona: Geoff Dyer’s Neapolitan pilgrimage
At the Villa Pignatelli in Naples there is an exhibition by Elisa Sighicelli: photographs of bits and pieces of antiquity…
Why 80 per cent of young people in this Macedonian town have turned to posting ‘fake news’
It’s such a relief to turn on the radio and hear the voice of Neil MacGregor. That reasoned authority, his…
I have no clue what’s going on, but can’t wait to find out: BBC1’s The Capture reviewed
How did the police ever solve any crimes before CCTV? That was the question which sprang to mind watching the…
A decorative pageant that would appeal to civic grandees: The Secret River reviewed
The Secret River opens in a fertile corner of New South Wales in the early 1800s. William, a cockney pauper…
Why has figurative painting become fashionable again?
The figure is back. Faces stare, bodies sprawl, fingers swipe, mums clutch, hands loll. The Venice Biennale was full of…
Why did the Soviets not want us to know about the pianist Maria Grinberg?
Only four women pianists have recorded complete cycles of the Beethoven piano sonatas: Maria Grinberg, Annie Fischer, H. J. Lim…
Great title – shame about the songs: Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell reviewed
Grade: B+ Get the razor blades out, Ms Misery is back. Only the truly affluent can immerse themselves in such…
Is this film saying relationships between teachers and kids are OK? Scarborough reviewed
Scarborough is a small British film but it will give you a very big headache. Its subject is teachers who…
My soulmate Brian Sewell
Romy Somerset is the sweetest, nicest young girl in London. She’s also my goddaughter and I remember, during her christening…
The mysterious ways of the French
These new tablets that will save or at least prolong my life have unpredictable side effects which only now, a…
How it feels to be the only Brexiteers in the village
We are the only Brexiteers in the village. That, at least, is how it feels. Out they come, the far…
Bridge
Benjaminised Acol, better known as ‘Benji Acol’ — and its variant ‘Reverse Benji’ — is one of the most commonly…
Ding an sich
Ding Liren, the Chinese grandmaster, has scored a career best in the Classical time limit section of the Grand Tour…
no. 570
Black to play. This is from Carlsen-Ding, St Louis 2019. The black pieces are converging on the white king but…
Home delivery
In Competition No. 3114 you were invited to submit estate agents’ details in the style of a well-known author. …
2424: Poem V
1A (four words) and 44 (four words) are quotations from the first verse of a poem (in ODQ). Five remaining…
to 2421: Tina
Fats WALLER (5), who has been called ‘THE BLACK HOROWITZ’ (40/37/1A), was born in NEW YORK (28) and died in…
The political pact that could save Brexit
If there is to be an election before we leave the European Union, some kind of non-aggression pact between the…
Will Ben Stokes be the greatest cricketer of all time?
Feeling depressed about politics? I hope not. Politicians don’t shape the world: they are the furniture movers, not the furniture…
Dear Mary: How much should I tip a black cab driver?
Q. We have near neighbours in the country with whom I would not wish to fall out for all sorts…
I wouldn’t suggest you eat here, but I doubt there’s a better place to drop acid: Camelot Castle reviewed
The Camelot Castle Hotel is a pebble-dashed late-Victorian excrescence on a cliff. It overlooks the ruins of Tintagel Castle. A…
Word of the week: ‘prorogue’
It was most unlooked-for that a king should ally with Whig politicians to seek parliamentary reform, but that was what…
