Dear Mary
Q. My wife and I are enthusiastic dancers so when we heard that people we know through mutual friends were…
From Hegel to Riesling
John Stuart Mill did not describe the Conservatives as the stupid party. He merely said that although not all Tories…
Cameron’s Legacy
Midway through his final cabinet meeting, David Cameron realised — with some horror — that it had turned into a…
High life
The Spectator readers’ party was as always a swell affair, with long-time subscribers politely mingling with ne’er-do-wells like myself, the…
Long life
When you are recovering from a stroke, you spend much of the time asleep. But when you are not sleeping,…
Long life
When you are recovering from a stroke, you spend much of the time asleep. But when you are not sleeping,…
Low life
One moment Trev and I were grooving on the dancefloor, Trev with his head bowed, his eyes closed, and his…
Low life
One moment Trev and I were grooving on the dancefloor, Trev with his head bowed, his eyes closed, and his…
Gig economy
In the same song where the brilliant lyricist Ian Dury gave the world the couplet, ‘I could be a writer…
Real life
Bonjour mes amis! Cydney spaniel ici, en France! Well, the Eurotunnel was very nice, although the dog departure lounge could…
The truth about ‘post-truth politics’
The departure of Andrea Leadsom from the Conservative leadership race was a blow to pundits who claim we’re living in…
The truth about ‘post-truth politics’
The departure of Andrea Leadsom from the Conservative leadership race was a blow to pundits who claim we’re living in…
We need to invent something better than Machu Picchu
Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but middle-class rules now require that every dinner party cheeseboard must contain at least two…
Wild life
Gilgil, Kenya At our Gilgil hut in the Rift Valley I’ve had a new flower garden planted to welcome…
Themistocles vs Tony Blair
Tony Blair has excused himself for the Iraq war by saying that he did what he believed was right. But…
Barometer
Nuggets on May Some trivia about Theresa May — At 59, she is the oldest new prime minister since Jim…
Never again
From ‘Terms of peace’, The Spectator, 15 July 1916: As the man in the street might say, ‘The Allies are not…
Australian letters
True measure Sir: I prefer Peter Costello’s view of conservatism to that of Michael Davis (Conservative Notes 18 June), that…
Letters
Lurid about Leavers Sir: Matthew Parris has spent much of the past few months denigrating those of us who want…
Portrait of the week
Home Theresa May became Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party when Andrea Leadsom withdrew her candidacy for election…
Taking the pissoir
You have to imagine the lines that follow in separate fonts to get the full sense of the nonsense in…
Girls v. ghosts
From the moment this all-female reboot of Ghostbusters was announced, the fan-boy panic set in: where will it end? An…
Privates on parade
In 1927, Georgia O’Keeffe announced that she would like her next exhibition to be ‘so magnificently vulgar that all the…
Where should this music be?
This must rank as the most heartbreaking example of premature chicken-counting in musical history. ‘Gotter has made a marvellous free…
Where should this music be?
This must rank as the most heartbreaking example of premature chicken-counting in musical history. ‘Gotter has made a marvellous free…
