How John Egan has stayed in the saddle
Pop stars rock on nowadays into their seventies. And jockeys too – despite the physical dexterity and instant-decision-making required –…
Is Trump playing the same game as Nero?
Last week, in his jovial Spectator piece about Donald Trump’s golf diplomacy, Patrick Kidd drew a comparison with the Roman…
The chef does not understand sandwiches: Raffles London at the OWO reviewed
I am mesmerised by the restaurants of Raffles London at the OWO (Old War Office) because war approaches and the…
Our B&B is the opposite of organic
‘You need a Wwoofer,’ said the guest as he luxuriated in the big armchair by the roaring fire in our…
How not to behave at a London gentleman’s club
After a 5 a.m. start, I arrived at the departure gate in Nice airport to discover there was an air…
Could Danny Kruger save the Conservatives?
I’ve seen signs of life in the Conservative party – unlikely I know, but true. I had thought it a…
The NHS is to blame for Bonnie Blue
Channel 4’s documentary begins as the ‘adult content creator’ Bonnie Blue (real name: Tia Billinger, 26, Derbyshire) prepares to beat…
The power of wax seals has never waned
In our electronic age it hardly comes as a surprise that Pat MacFadden’s Cabinet Office intends to do away with…
What it means to be English
How can you ever put your finger on the comfort, the joy, the absurdity, of being English? Not, perhaps, through…
Spectator Competition: All grown up
For Competition 3410 you were invited to imagine a celebrated character from a children’s book in later life. There were…
Be warned: the new Naked Gun is actually funny
As the lights went down for The Naked Gun – the ‘legacy sequel’ to the spoof cop franchise – I…
Ctrl U: the Online Safety Act is shutting down the internet
This time last year, the UK was consumed by the worst race riots since 2001. It was precipitated by the…
The asylum hotel crisis will cost Labour
Yvette Cooper doesn’t do holidays, which is probably just as well since she is the minister who, this summer, holds…
Britain shouldn’t put up with Donald Trump
History is the march of folly and far too many of my countrymen are hearkening to a drumbeat which would…
What the media doesn’t tell us about Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer’s apparent justification for threatening to recognise a Palestinian state by September is pictures. ‘I think people are…
Roman Polanski ruined my hair
The Prom was Berlioz and Strauss, but the Albert Hall is always the star for me. It is a lover’s…
Portrait of the week: Recognition for Palestine, victory for the Lionesses and no name for Corbyn’s party
Home Britain will recognise Palestinian statehood in September, Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, announced, ‘unless the Israeli government takes…
The cult of safetyism harms us all
Last month, the government announced that 16-year-olds would be able to vote at the next general election. If these new…
Teddy bears and TikTokers: on the Epping front line
Early on Sunday afternoon at the Epping Bean Café, where a cutesy sign hangs from a wall reading ‘Coffee makes…
One of the best productions of Giselle I have ever seen
Giselle is my favourite among the 19th-century classics. Blessed with a charming score by the melodically fertile Adolphe Adam and…
Pacy, fast-moving and graphically lavish: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 reviewed
Grade: B+ Tony Hawk is an old guy these days. The most famous sk8r boi ever to have lived is…
Israel has gone too far
If any other country in the Middle East had behaved as monstrously as Israel has in recent weeks, the jets…
Is it ‘off his own back’ or ‘off his own bat’?
During the last Olympics, Jane Edwards from Worcestershire wrote to the Times observing that Mrs Malaprop herself would have found…
Edinburgh Fringe’s war on comedy
Every day my inbox fills with stories of panic, madness and despair. The Edinburgh Fringe is upon us and the…
