Portrait of the week
Home Two British men were charged with immigration offences after the rescue by night of 18 Albanian migrants, two of…
Spellbound
Isabelle Huppert does nothing by halves. And she doesn’t, I think, care greatly for journalists. She expects them to ask…
Punchlines and punches
Regular filmgoers must be losing count of the Rabelaisian revelries they’ve been invited to of late. You may recognise the…
Emotional intelligence
The difference between a poor ballet of the book (see the Royal Ballet’s Frankenstein) and a good one — indeed…
What lies beneath
It was not so unusual for someone to turn into a god in Egypt. It happened to the Emperor Hadrian’s…
War on want
Radiohead have been at the top of the musical tree for so long now that it’s easy to forget what…
War on want
Radiohead have been at the top of the musical tree for so long now that it’s easy to forget what…
Wish upon a star
Out come the stars in Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet. He musters a well-drilled, celebrity-ridden crew but they can’t quite…
Wish upon a star
Out come the stars in Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet. He musters a well-drilled, celebrity-ridden crew but they can’t quite…
The supremes
When I interviewed Richard Farnes in Leeds six years ago about Opera North’s project of performing the complete Ring, he…
The supremes
When I interviewed Richard Farnes in Leeds six years ago about Opera North’s project of performing the complete Ring, he…
Sound and fury
There are few jobs more dishonest than being a radio critic in Britain. I know this because it was how…
Sound and fury
There are few jobs more dishonest than being a radio critic in Britain. I know this because it was how…
Bridge
The Hubert Phillips Bowl is one of my favourite tournaments of the year: a friendly, knockout event with a rather…
Four down, four to go
‘Before I was part of Team Turnbull…’ said Tony Abbott, letting the moment hang in the air with a mischievous…
Hollande equals Thatcher? Not quite, Monsieur le President, but keep trying
Have you ever tried discussing the merits of gun control with a Texan, or of deregulated labour markets with a…
Learning the secrets of happiness from Britain’s most foul-mouthed angler
To go fishing on the Itchen in mayfly season, you either have to be very, very rich or very, very…
Great news for fatties: it’s really not your fault
I’ve noticed for some time now that thin people, genuinely slim ones, have a secret loathing of fatties. Kindly though…
The right question at the wrong time
Complaining about the EU referendum campaign has become an integral part of the referendum; even Delia Smith has got in…
The Spectator’s Notes
‘No one can seriously deny that European integration brought an end to Franco-German conflict and has settled the German question…
Impure thoughts
Spoiler alerts aren’t normally required for reviews of Shakespeare — but perhaps I’d better issue one before saying that in…
Yay, root out those Jew-haters, Jeremy!
A long and arduous flight back from the Caucasus, but worth it nonetheless for the meaningful protest we had staged…
Drinking partner
In Competition No. 2949 you were invited to submit a poem about sharing a drink with a famous writer. I…
Portrait of the week
Home The government published a Treasury analysis warning that an exit from the EU would plunge Britain into a year-long…
