Our debt to Serbia
From ‘Boldness, Boldness and Again Boldness’, The Spectator, 16 October 1915: There are considerations of faith and honour which must in any…
Portrait of the week
Home Two groups were launched, one in favour of remaining in the European Union and the other in favour of…
The Program could do with a good dose of performance-enhancing drugs
The Program, as directed by Stephen Frears, is a biopic of Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist and ‘sporting hero’ who…
Giselle has floored many a ballerina — it did so again last week
English has all sorts of emotive metaphors for how we feel about the ground. We’re floored. Or well grounded. Or…
With this Tate Britain exhibition, Frank Auerbach joins the masters
No sooner had I stepped into the private view of Frank Auerbach’s exhibition at Tate Britain than I bumped into…
Why I’m glad my piano teacher spent more time chatting than teaching
At the entrance to Marylebone railway station is an old piano that anyone can play. Unfortunately, whoever had this sweet…
Why I’m glad my piano teacher spent more time chatting than teaching
At the entrance to Marylebone railway station is an old piano that anyone can play. Unfortunately, whoever had this sweet…
Ariadne shows what a wonderful operetta composer Richard Strauss could have been
‘Oh, those Greeks! They knew how to live. What is required for that is to stop courageously at the surface,…
Ariadne shows what a wonderful operetta composer Richard Strauss could have been
‘Oh, those Greeks! They knew how to live. What is required for that is to stop courageously at the surface,…
The characters are barely stereotypes: The Father at the Wyndham’s reviewed
The Father, set in a swish Paris apartment, has a beautifully spare and elegant set. The stage is framed by…
The characters are barely stereotypes: The Father at the Wyndham’s reviewed
The Father, set in a swish Paris apartment, has a beautifully spare and elegant set. The stage is framed by…
Australian diary
Abu Dhabi is not a place anyone should go voluntarily – which, in retrospect, made my presence there all the…
National Poetry Day broke the key rule of poetry readings: never let normal people do the reading
Imagine what Brennig Davies must have felt like just before 11 o’clock last Tuesday evening. The 15-year-old was about to…
National Poetry Day broke the key rule of poetry readings: never let normal people do the reading
Imagine what Brennig Davies must have felt like just before 11 o’clock last Tuesday evening. The 15-year-old was about to…
Bridge
Two weeks playing the Bermuda Bowl (world championships) in Chennai ended heartbreakingly for England’s awesome Open Team and their loyal…
Straight to the heart
Muhammad Salah, or Abu Rajab as his mates call him, is what you might call a ‘firebrand cleric’. Even, possibly,…
The spectre haunting George Osborne
Rather more attention was paid last week to the strange position of George Osborne’s feet than to the dark shape…
Can the Great British public be made to care passionately about the EU referendum?
It’s early days, I know, but the Outers have convinced me. Britain will not collapse into chaos and penury if…
OK: I’m convinced: one EU referendum might not be enough
We now have to take seriously the possibility that in the EU referendum Britain will vote to leave. I had…
Could George Osborne come out for the Out campaign?
Listen http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/thedisasterofthesnp-silliberal-one-partystate/media.mp3 Westminster may have been guilty of ignoring the Scottish referendum until the last minute, but no one can…
Charles Moore’s Notes: Diane the Posh Goddess and Osborne’s mania
When I arrived at Cambridge in 1975, a nervous freshman, I remember walking with a friend past Newnham and being…
Hunted blows a fresh breeze through the stale world of reality TV
Television used to employ entertainers to entertain the public. Back then you could count the channels on the fingers of…
What is it about Bill Viola’s films that reduce grown-ups to tears?
Even the most down-to-earth people get emotional about Bill Viola’s videos. Clare Lilley of Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) seems close…
What the Great British Bake Off really says about Britain
There was an interesting news item on the television the other day. A transgendered chap was hoping to become the…
