Happiness is a chainsaw and a maul in the rain and the mud
Provence in the rain is as miserable as anywhere else but Charlie came to the rescue with his power tool
Why did Goya’s sitters put up with his brutal honesty?
In the National Gallery’s new exhibition, Goya: The Portraits, you see a talented provincial become a modern master
I rode my own racehorse and was changed for ever
I have always felt I can trust my horse with my life; that day I found out exactly what that meant
Oh, how I will miss the plastic bag!
Its demise may be a rare and heartening sign of our lack of selfishness but life will never be so easy again
Cats, whisky and modernity: the J.G. Ballard I knew
'The only truly alien planet is Earth,' Ballard once told me. A new film adaptation of Ballard's High-Rise shows what he meant
Bridge
There’s no doubt about it: I’m an addict. A BBO addict. Since the Bermuda Bowl began, nearly a fortnight ago,…
Black death
Joseph Henry Blackburne was the leading British tournament player towards the end of the 19th century. It could be said…
Why I’m stepping down after 28 years as The Spectator pop critic
In the past three decades, pop's place in culture has changed drastically, drifting out of reach and away from people's lives
Puzzle no. 382
White to play. This is from Blackburne-Schwarz, Berlin 1881. What is the best way to deal with the knight check?…
Threesome
In Competition No. 2918 you were invited to submit a poem composed entirely of three-letter words. ‘This is the most…
2232: Ups and downs
The unclued lights, in one case paired, are all suggested by a thematic phrase (two words), which is set out…
To 2229: Gnome
The PROVERB (35) (in ODQ), associated with the KENNEDY (19) FAMILY (31), was ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’. EDIT…
Charles Moore’s notes: Boris’s brilliance; Labour’s Joe McCarthy
Plus: The rage of Denis Healey; a clarification for Sir Geoff Palmer; and why there’s no party for my new book
Edmund de Waal’s diary: Selling nothing, and why writers need ping-pong
Plus: Literary speed dating at Yale, and an installation near Salisbury
Look beyond ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in The Hague
Holland’s most painterly city is beautiful in autumn
The weird truth about the word ‘normal’
Praise, insult, sexual euphemism – what an extraordinary range of meaning
Manchester has marvellous wines, and it’s not finished yet
This was a great city once. It will be so again
Dear Mary: How can girls avoid freezing in cold marquees?
Also, how to tell people they have a massive blackhead, and how to deal with good friends who are bad musicians
We let programmers run our lives. So how’s their moral code?
When unethical behaviour is embedded in software, as it was at VW, bosses often don’t have a clue
What I learnt trying to buy lunch for an anti-Tory protestor
This wasn’t a ‘Trot’ or an ‘anarchist’; this was an ordinary woman re-engaged by Corbyn-mania
This year, Catholic conservatives are ready for Pope Francis
His Synod on the Family may not be the big reforming step he expects
Lingua malcolma
There is a breath of fresh air that has wafted through our political system over the last three weeks, ushering…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, told the Conservative party conference in Manchester: ‘We need a national crusade to get…
This is the Tories’ golden chance to seize the centre ground
Now is the time to show why modern Conservatism is the surest way of bringing about a stronger, fairer society
