Northern Ireland Opera’s Turandot will fill you with awe and revulsion
Chords as bright and sweet as pomegranate seeds burst and spill in Turandot, a splinter of bitterness at their centre.…
Northern Ireland Opera’s Turandot will fill you with awe and revulsion
Chords as bright and sweet as pomegranate seeds burst and spill in Turandot, a splinter of bitterness at their centre.…
Glyndebourne caters to the lower-middle classes not past-it toffs
What is Glyndebourne? A middle-aged Bullingdon. That’s a common view: a luxury bun fight for past-it toffs who glug champagne,…
Glyndebourne caters to the lower-middle classes not past-it toffs
What is Glyndebourne? A middle-aged Bullingdon. That’s a common view: a luxury bun fight for past-it toffs who glug champagne,…
Community listening
There’s been a lot of fanfare and trailers about BBC Radio’s new ‘online first’ facility. We can now get hold…
Community listening
There’s been a lot of fanfare and trailers about BBC Radio’s new ‘online first’ facility. We can now get hold…
Porridge Season
Tuesday morning. The Chopin of golden syrup is going to perform his Breakfast Fantaisie for teaspoon and dessertspoon. Such a…
The Wolves of Memory
Loping through thick snow, fur matted with ice, they have lost the trace that led them long ago from a…
Bridge
Congratulations to my old pal Lou Hobhouse, who has just been appointed the new editor of the English Bridge Union…
Unforced assimilation
Finally, it would appear, we are beginning an honest conversation about the assimilation of Islamic cultures into mainstream Australia. This…
I may have to revise my view that crypto-currencies are Satan’s work
I confess to being an out-and-out Luddite when it comes to bitcoin and other so-called crypto-currencies. To the extent that…
Why should we listen to Benedict Cumberbatch on Syrian refugees?
Because I just don’t know what to think about the Syrian refugee crisis — not even after Simon Schama’s powerfully…
Cameron’s Syrian stew
Listen http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/civilwarinthecatholicchurch/media.mp3 David Cameron doesn’t do regret. It is not in his nature to sit and fret about decisions that…
The Spectator’s notes
It is good to learn that the current management of the V&A want to reverse their predecessors’ lack of interest…
Why most four-year-olds deserve to be sectioned
The first episode of Let Us Entertain You (BBC2, Wednesday) definitely couldn’t be accused of lacking a central thesis. Presenter…
Christmas markets
Why the fuss about German Christmas markets? Surely they’re just schmaltzy shanty towns, full of stuff you’d never dream of…
Australian diary
St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral is a Melbourne landmark. Opposite Flinders Street station, it marks the entry to the city from…
Why can’t we get our minds around ME?
Do you ever wake up worried that you have tiny fibres growing beneath your skin, all along your spinal column?…
2235: Vile stuff
1/44 (eight words in total) is part of a question (in ODQ) minus a word exemplified by the other unclued…
To 2232: Ups and downs
The thematic phrase is ‘The Waves’, shown in a wave pattern in the grid. It is the title of a…
Consider this…
Self-indulgent race discrimination commissioner African American is not an accurate descriptor of Americans of Negro racial origin. North Africans, for…
Fine moments
What a shame that Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull never found a way to work effectively together. Or to look…
Happy families
Windscreen stickers of family groups propagate an image of modern Australia at odds with our national diversity
