Why cooks were a key ingredient in Greek comedy
Hardly a week goes by without a cook — sorry, chef — going bananas about the desecration of his hallowed…
What kills more people in the UK: hot or cold weather?
Losing confidence The government may soon face a vote of no confidence, the second this year. How often do these…
A way with words
From ‘Low talk’ by John Daniel, 19 July 1963: Everybody has heard of Dr Johnson’s dictionary, which is now not…
Letters: why Rose Hudson-Wilkin is the right choice for Bishop of Dover
Rose is the right choice Sir: Every Wednesday for the past nine years, it has been my privilege to attend…
The conviction of ‘Nick’ shows the evil behind McCarthyism
‘No great surprise’ headlined the BBC television news on Tuesday lunchtime. The BBC does not admit it now, but it…
The Lib Dem revival could be the Tories’ best hope of winning an election
When the leadership result was announced, Jeremy Corbyn’s keyboard warriors swung into action. Behold, they said: a new party leader…
We’ve made morons of our police force
I never believed Carl Beech’s allegations that he had suffered multiple depravities, including sexual abuse, at the hands of various…
God, I hate wasps!
Halfway up the back stairs on a ledge is the body of a wasp so big it’s either a queen…
Is China really the enemy?
China is a nation with values deeply at odds with the West. The Chinese spy, steal and bully. They don’t…
Has the gin craze reached its zenith?
The list of business leaders who have damaged their careers with a single word famously begins with Gerald Ratner, who…
The first 100 days will make or break Boris
Boris Johnson’s first 100 days will make or break him — which is what makes his premiership unlike any other.…
There’s another option beyond no deal or May’s deal – and Boris knows it
With Boris Johnson finally in No. 10 we now have a prime minister who says he is committed to Britain…
Johnson & Johnson: How Samuel shaped Boris
To understand Boris Johnson, you have to understand the figure who has inspired him, shaped his worldview and accompanied him…
Society cannot be run by Twitter mobs
Two considerable injustices were undone this week. The first was the reinstatement of Sir Roger Scruton to the government’s ‘Building…
How America’s Iran policy is shaped in Riyadh and Jerusalem
Iran’s seizure of a British-owned oil tanker transiting the Persian Gulf has let loose a fresh round of media war…
Tim Rice: I left Lord’s during that cricket final… to see The Lion King
As I left Lord’s at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon to go to The Lion King European premiere I…
Worried about sky-high rents? Learn to love a bedsit
‘I’m not going to your place, it looks like a crack den.’ It’s not exactly a vote of confidence when…
The joy of flying from London City Airport
The late Frank Johnson — former editor of The Spectator — had a thing about London City Airport. ‘I never…
America’s brutal borstals: The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead, reviewed
Novelists will always be interested in enclosed communities — or the ‘total institution’, as sociologists say. When you separate a…
Kayaking solo from Shetland to the Channel
After kayaking solo in a November storm to a square mile of rock called Eilean a’Chleirich in the Summer Isles…
They just keep rolling along: the astonishing durability of the Rolling Stones
At the end of 1969, teenage Rolling Stones fans reading the new Fab 208 annual could be forgiven for thinking…
Aung San Suu Kyi couldn’t save Burma — but tourism can
My uncle Edward did not like talking about his service in Burma during the second world war. When I asked…
Fun and games: I Am Sovereign, by Nicola Barker, reviewed
In 2017’s Goldsmiths Prize-winning novel H(A)PPY, Nicola Barker strewed pages with multicoloured text. The Cauliflower, her joyful previous offering, employed…
Where would ballet be without Marius Petipa?
Should the man on the Clapham omnibus ever turn his mind to ballet, he is bound to envisage the work…
The dark side of Whitby: Kate Atkinson’s Big Sky and other crime novels reviewed
![[Getty]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Whitby.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
Andrew Martin continues his quest to create uniquely interesting crime novels in The Winker (Corsair, £16.99). Lee Jones is a…
