How to be a man
Gstaad I was reading in these here pages Julie Burchill’s review of Candace Bushnell’s Is There Still Sex in…
Catriona’s accident has made of us minor celebrities in the village
Three weeks ago Catriona was going to the village shop when a building site security fence fell on her. Wire…
The EU has banned a miracle cure for laminitis
Once upon a time, in a country that didn’t run itself, a horse supplement company invented a cure for laminitis.…
All is not well in the murky world of bloodstock sales
Carried away on a day at the races a successful businessman bid for and bought a horse from a seller.…
Bridge
When did ‘literally’ become, literally, the most annoying word in the English language? Fairly recently I would guess, because ‘like’…
Peace conference
The classical section of the elite Grand Tour event in St Louis, which ended earlier this week, resembled a peace…
no. 569
Black to play. This is from Nepomniachtchi-Anand, St Louis 2019. How did Anand exploit his opponent’s lapse? Answers to me…
Initial impressions
In Competition No. 3113 you were invited to submit an acrostic poem about a politician in which the first letter…
2423: Redheads
Eight unclued lights are of a kind. Across 1 Place to take off sari, pants and slip (8) 8 …
to 2420: Crafty
1, 4, 23 and 30 are livery companies (33/22). They are found in The 21 and 2 (the singular of…
Must try harder: education is still a vote loser for the Tories
The reluctance of the Conservative party to take credit for the success of its education reforms is a source of…
Why no one ever moves back to London
In last week’s Spectator, Martin Vander Weyer replied to a couple with a baby who had sought his advice on…
Dear Mary: What do you do when your hostess licks your spoon?
Q. I have happily overcome many moments of diplomatic and social challenge, but was stumped by the case of the…
Reasons to be cheerful: gardens, Ben Stokes and cold wine
‘The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.’ Is there a more charming passage in…
Is a cow always a cow?
I’ve noticed a tendency among townies like me to call all cattle cows (which they feel they must mention in…
Jeffrey Smart exhibition Constructed World
There are just a few weeks left to catch the Jeffrey Smart exhibition Constructed World at the Art Gallery of…
Superglued to socialism
‘With love & rage…’. This is how an existential threat to civilisation signs off. The cute tag hangs below Extinction…
Business/Robbery etc
Twenty-three years ago deputy Liberal leader Peter Costello tried to prevent Tim Fischer becoming Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister. But newly…
Climate change stripped bare
Last July, the Prince of Wales warned global leaders they have ‘18 critical months’ to solve climate change and restore…
Pilgrim Daughter
Like the Pilgrim Fathers before her, Greta Thunberg, the po-faced Pilgrim Daughter of the climate cult, set sail for America…
Les États Unis will always be a foreign country to Macron
Last weekend’s G7 summit of political leaders from the world’s largest democratic economies opened with a surprise, as the French…
Reasonable doubt about Pell
I want to remind readers of the Speccie of a key premise – really it is a trade-off that we…
Diary
Donald Trump’s border wall may not yet be built from coast-to-coast but the barrier between those who support the president…
Schumpeter’s vision returns
A prominent economist has written that capitalism is in crisis. Its wealth creation engine is sputtering. Those at the head…
