Approachable abstraction
This small Whitworth Gallery show of works by Gillian Ayres, Bryan Wynter and Roger Hilton is a good start
How they tried (and failed) to make ‘La Marseillaise’ nicer
Plus: Cynthia Payne’s demographic; how armed are British police?; and double-decker trains
How the Germans made Glyndebourne
It may be quintessentially English but John Christie’s opera festival was the creation of Germanic immigrants
Isis bombs have exiled the Vicar of Baghdad to Surrey… but he’s itching to go back to the Middle East
Isis bombs have exiled Canon Andrew White to Hampshire, but he's itching to get back to the Middle East
Why do we assume our western good life will last for ever?
The ancients were so used to constant death and disaster they grew worried when things went too well
Thomas Heatherwick
Heatherwick's designs might work for tax-avoiding corporations and states built on slave labour, but they don't work for 21st-century London
The Kenyan night is like a busy shipping lane, but silent
The insects are quiet. What are they waiting for?
Top tips for gardeners — from stroking seedlings to stacking logs
Ursula Buchan’s choice of gardening books: Paradise and Plenty, The Book of Pears, Grow for Flavour, 365 Days of Colour in Your Garden, Oxford College Gardens, and Norwegian Wood
The French way of war
From ‘The Example of France’, The Spectator, 20 November 1915: France is an example to the world and to posterity…
Bored by Brahms
Craftsmanship can be dangerous for composers. It undermines Mendelssohn's claim to greatness. And it's become the curse of modern classical music
The disturbing case of Roger Khan – and the cost of cheap justice
How a dyslexic man with no legal knowledge ended up defending himself on a charge of attempted murder
Bridge
Bravissimo! The Italians have won gold yet again at the European Champions Cup. The event was launched in 2002, and…
Letters
Plus: whom the young resent, Judy Garland, the philistinism of Ken Livingstone, boarding school ‘extras’
Rab Butler was too indecisive (and badly dressed) to be Prime Minister
According to Michael Jago’s The Best Prime Minister We Never Had, the gifted, intellectual Butler effectively sabotaged his own career in the ‘stupid’ party
Ménage à trois
Plus: a fruitfully refined return of Scottish Ballet's Elsa Canasta by Javier de Frutos at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre
How ‘stress management’ can make your blood pressure soar
There is a huge industry with a vested interest in keeping people’s anxiety levels high
Grand Larsen-y
It is said that more books have been written about chess than about any other game, sport or pastime. I…
August in Arizona
Simpson’s slender volume of nine short stories focuses rigorously on middle-aged women — in the ‘August’ years of life
Sins of the fathers
My Nazi Legacy follows two men across Europe, both sons of prominent Nazis, one of whom tries to confront his father’s crimes, the other who denies anything ever happened
The Grand Tour
It’s still possible to enjoy Naples, Pompeii and Florence like a 17th-century aristocrat
A stunning blend of simplicity and complexity
A sumptuous volume accompanies the Hergé exhibition at Somerset House (until 31 January 2016) celebrating the intrepid young reporter who never seems to file a story
No. 388
Black to play. This is from Sursock–Larsen, Siegen 1970. How can Black win material? Answers to me at The Spectator…
Winter wonderland
And his Terrence Rattigan double bill, also at the Garrick Theatre, is also worth shelving out for
Curiosities for Christmas
The best of this year’s stocking-fillers are historically inclined —and surprisingly enjoyable and informative
