High life
If any of you sees Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, walking around with a begging bowl in his…
Long life
It’s more than four months now since my 75th birthday, but I’m still waiting for a ‘cold call’ from the…
Long life
It’s more than four months now since my 75th birthday, but I’m still waiting for a ‘cold call’ from the…
Low life
The old fishing town faced the sea psychically as well as architecturally. Dressed as pirates, my grandson and I walked…
Low life
The old fishing town faced the sea psychically as well as architecturally. Dressed as pirates, my grandson and I walked…
Charlotte
It could have been much worse. Someone had pointed out that among the new baby’s ancestors was Queen Violant of…
Is satire a dying art?
I appeared on Radio 4 a couple of weeks ago to discuss the age-old question of whether political satire is…
Is satire a dying art?
I appeared on Radio 4 a couple of weeks ago to discuss the age-old question of whether political satire is…
Why estate agents aren’t dying out
I don’t like to make business predictions, but — barring some apocalypse — I suspect there will be plenty of…
Coalitions of the willing
Whatever the result of the election, it has become clearer by the day that our ‘democracy’ is run by politicians…
Barometer
Party packs Is it possible to form a stable coalition with more than one political party? The Conservative/Lib Dem coalition…
Chemical weapons
From ‘War by Poison’, The Spectator, 8 May 1915: By the consent of all men who are not savages, the use…
Portrait of the week
Home The country went to the polls. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, prepared by going around with his sleeves rolled…
Rock bottom
The oeuvre of Chris Rock may not be fully known in this parish. He was the African-American stand-up who made…
Boys on the march
In dance, it’s usually the moment the boys start fighting that challenges your suspension of disbelief. Synchronised fencing (MacMillan’s Romeo…
And then there were four
Where were you when you heard that Zayn Malik had left One Direction? No, me neither, but as my teenage…
And then there were four
Where were you when you heard that Zayn Malik had left One Direction? No, me neither, but as my teenage…
What a Day
The blue sky is Sunni. The white clouds are Shia. The sun is happy. The shops are crowded. The planet…
My nominee for politician of the year: the honourable member for Athens B
After the heat of battle: the accolades, the recriminations, the telling of history by the victors. It’s six months early…
My part in a masterpiece of political correctness
Damien Hirst, Grayson Perry, James Delingpole: all winners of major art prizes. I was awarded mine last week by Anglia…
In praise of the pit bull
Last night I saw a woman dancing with a pit bull terrier. It was about 9 p.m. and her curtains…
A voting system that’s past it
The defence of the Westminster first-past-the-post voting system is that while it’s certainly unfair, it delivers decisive results. A relatively…
Not much cop
With Clocking Off, Shameless and State of Play among his credits, Paul Abbott is undoubtedly one of the most respected…
Barbados
Unusually, I didn’t leave the British Isles until I was 35, when I went to the Maldives for a fortnight.…
Miliband’s tablet of stone may cost him my vote
You have the advantage over me. You know the result of the general election, whereas I do not — a…
