Long life
The Eurostar train descended gently into the Channel Tunnel, went halfway along it, and then stopped. There it remained for…
Long life
The Eurostar train descended gently into the Channel Tunnel, went halfway along it, and then stopped. There it remained for…
Low life
Rachel Johnson, in last week’s Spectator diary, says that her husband says she only writes a book in order to…
Low life
Rachel Johnson, in last week’s Spectator diary, says that her husband says she only writes a book in order to…
Due diligence
No doubt you, too, have had the feeling, upon glancing at an article in a paper picked up in a…
Real life
This much I know, I never want to live in an ‘executive home’, and neither do I want to live…
Giving up alcohol is not as much fun as I’d hoped
Two months ago, I set myself the target of losing 11 pounds in time for the Spectator’s summer party on…
Giving up alcohol is not as much fun as I’d hoped
Two months ago, I set myself the target of losing 11 pounds in time for the Spectator’s summer party on…
Just giving
Seven years ago I wrote here about a site called Kiva.org. I had met the co-founder of this charity when…
Solon vs Jean-Claude Juncker
The combination of terror and outrage with which Brussels has greeted Greek Prime Minister Tsipras’s referendum tells us everything we…
Barometer
Bank job Should we buy shares in companies which print banknotes in expectation of one getting to print millions of…
Secret weapons
From ‘Bogy-Mongering’, The Spectator, 3 July 1915: Of late there have been all sorts of dark hints and rumours as to…
Portrait of the week
Home At least 30 British people were among 38 shot dead at a beach resort at Sousse in Tunisia by…
Eyes wide shut
Asif Kapadia’s documentary about Amy Winehouse, whom Tony Bennett describes as ‘one of the truest jazz singers that ever lived’,…
Dying of the light
It’s a comfort that the creation of a new ballet inspired by French court entertainment can still happen in the…
Glastonbury knight
I had meant to write a dispassionate account of this year’s Glastonbury, really I had. But I’m afraid my plans…
Glastonbury knight
I had meant to write a dispassionate account of this year’s Glastonbury, really I had. But I’m afraid my plans…
Cold-blooded
An unidentified lizard, the same size as a Grecian stick, the colour of dirtied sand, holds the dissolving power of…
Gotcha in reverse
The ABC, through its glamour couple Sarah Ferguson and Tony Jones, did Tony Abbott two huge favours this past month.…
This Greek catastrophe isn’t Lagarde’s fault but her career is starting to look like toast
The Greek drama took a turn few of us expected last week, when the world thought compromise was imminent. What…
Must all Children’s Laureates be tedious lefties?
Unless you’re an avid reader of the Guardian, you’re probably blissfully unaware that Britain has a new Children’s Laureate. His…
Cameron must not let this crisis go to waste
Few European leaders have been luckier than David Cameron. First he was sent Ed Miliband. Now events in Greece may…
The Spectator’s notes
‘The Greek people,’ the Financial Times leading article said on Monday, ‘would be well advised to listen closely to the…
The bankers’ darling
This week’s Imagine… Jeff Koons: Diary of a Seducer (BBC1, Tuesday) began with Koons telling a slightly puzzled-looking Alan Yentob…
Diary
‘Hello. I’m lesbian threesome,’ the young lady tells Taki. ‘And I’m Mongolian rampage,’ says the young man beside her. We’re…
