Aussie life
A strange thing happened recently on a bright and peaceful Sunday morning in Bleak City, aka the once-great Melbourne. I…
Language
The online world breeds some very strange bits of language, and none are stranger than the word ‘catfishing’. This names…
Shaggy dog tale
I thought it would be impossible to make a bad film about a dog but the production team for The…
What is there to be optimistic about for British business?
In this season of scant corporate news – a Ryanair rant against the French here, a new BP oilfield there…
‘Italian that just works’: Broadwick Soho reviewed
This column sometimes shrieks the death of central London, and this is unfair. (I think this because others are now…
Wormwood Scrubs, my deserted little bit of paradise
On the face of it, Wormwood Scrubs is not particularly appealing. I don’t mean the prison, but the common in…
Dear Mary: how can I set my daughter up with a nice young man?
Q. I am soon to entertain a house party on a sporting estate. We took the same house last year…
Nothing can save Test cricket
Forgive me if I don’t join the general ‘Make mine a treble’ hoo-ha about the future of Test cricket after…
Does Canopus have a connection with canopy?
I spent some time looking for the connection between the ancient city of Canopus and the English canopy. Nelson won…
The Romans would have been baffled by the Gaza protests
Why are people in the UK protesting about the situation in Gaza? Surely it should be because the helpless Gazans…
Ultimately hard to resist: Elbow reviewed
Our relationships with bands are often very like our relationships with people. Some are pure and lasting love. Some start…
Labour’s new ‘dark arts’ strategy
Senior Labour figures have given up hope of beating Nigel Farage in 2029. There are two causes for this pessimism.…
Of course shoplifters are scumbags
A familiar cliché, which in history has been disproved time and again, is that a police force cannot operate without…
Can Reform beat the blob?
Shortly after he was elected as Britain’s youngest council leader last month, 19-year-old George Finch of Reform UK had a…
How many organisations are proscribed in the UK?
Mind your manors US Vice-President J.D. Vance is holidaying in an £8,000-a-week manor house near Charlbury in the Cotswolds. What…
