Beersheba diary
Chips Rafferty never came to Beersheba. And he definitely never visited Be’er- Sheva, ‘The Opportunity Capital of Israel’. Be’er-Sheva was…
Brown Study
I do not like talking about personalities in politics. What is at stake is too important to be channelled through…
Australian notes
When told of the death of the philosopher David Armstrong, the Prime Minister Tony Abbott had this to say: ‘David…
Diary
One of my favourite destinations when travelling internationally is the airport bookshop. Not to buy a book. I just love…
Morrison and the critics
Every Australian government since Ben Chifley’s has defined our immigration policy in terms of guaranteeing border control and an orderly…
Past lives
Eighty-seven Hackford Road, SW9, is unremarkable but for a blue plaque telling the world that Vincent van Gogh once lived…
Original Sin
When first they ushered me into that hall To take my place on a cheap fold-out seat, My eyes clamped…
Approaching Little Big Horn
All spring the scattered bands gathered, the People, the Human Beings, all those like themselves on this earth — Lakota…
Approaching Little Big Horn
All spring the scattered bands gathered, the People, the Human Beings, all those like themselves on this earth — Lakota…
Old Harry’s game
Harry’s Bar is a dull pale box. This is remarkable in Venice, which is a hospice for dying palaces, held…
Team games
Ah teamwork! There’s no me in team, as David Brent used to observe sagely, but there are often plenty of…
Confidence boost
Eight people became millionaires last Saturday, collecting £1,342,599 each when the Scoop6 bet, which had been rolled over for 12…
Past lives
Eighty-seven Hackford Road, SW9, is unremarkable but for a blue plaque telling the world that Vincent van Gogh once lived…
Original Sin
When first they ushered me into that hall To take my place on a cheap fold-out seat, My eyes clamped…
The pitfalls and privileges of being a politician’s child
It was a Friday morning in 1992, Britain had just had an election, and I was on an ice rink.…
Mass murder and the Hollywood ending
I’ve found myself strangely drawn to the videos made by the 22-year-old assassin Elliot Rodger just before he went on…
