Australian Notes
Bob Carr’s Diary of a Foreign Minister is further evidence for those who need it. Years ago the late John…
Letting go
We are not, by our nature, a militaristic people, and it is significant that our most well-known military venture was…
The slow death of free speech
How the Left, here and abroad, is trying to shut down debate — from Islam and Israel to global warming and gay marriage
The son also rises
The day before I’m due to meet Ferdinand Kingsley, actor son of Sir Ben, he sends me a message to…
Unsettling meditations
The Blyth Gallery is situated in the Sherfield Building, deep in the South Kensington campus of Imperial College London. The…
Preset Image Valentine
Intimacy these days discomforts. More our style is the park or the pub, or three-minded chess with young Kasparov. A…
Preset Image Valentine
Intimacy these days discomforts. More our style is the park or the pub, or three-minded chess with young Kasparov. A…
Relaxing with Marcus
In the ‘Chefs’ Last Supper’ in the National Portrait Gallery, Marcus Wareing is throwing a brie at Gordon Ramsay, who…
A sporting chance
The brotherhood of cricket, as we know, transcends race, creed, class and nationality. It can also be a big help…
Taxing questions
We all have to adjust to reality, like the lady who entered a Barbados bar having already enjoyed several gin…
The son also rises
The day before I’m due to meet Ferdinand Kingsley, actor son of Sir Ben, he sends me a message to…
Unsettling meditations
The Blyth Gallery is situated in the Sherfield Building, deep in the South Kensington campus of Imperial College London. The…
Study in spectacle
In a dance world that has chosen to dispense with stylistic and semantic subtleties, ‘narrative ballet’ and ‘story ballet’ are…
Power of ritual
This week, I have been mostly listening to Parsifal. Not the St Matthew Passion, which is my usual Passiontide fare.…
Power of ritual
This week, I have been mostly listening to Parsifal. Not the St Matthew Passion, which is my usual Passiontide fare.…
Ed Miliband could be the first atheist Jewish prime minister from Primrose Hill
Last weekend, in a small New Jersey suburb, I found myself in a liquor store. Never been anywhere like it.…
People’s attitude to sexual show trials is changing
I liked the generic title ‘Another Voice’ that The Spectator used to give this column, because it seemed to loosen…
Australian Notes
Bob Carr’s Diary of a Foreign Minister is further evidence for those who need it. Years ago the late John…
Blundering on
The handling of Maria Miller's expenses demonstrated yet again why Ed Miliband is the luckiest political leader alive
Portrait of the week
Home Maria Miller resigned as Culture Secretary after a week of being the centre of a game of hunt-the-issue. She…
Diary
Sunday afternoon brings the bomb squad to South Kensington. From my third-floor window, I see them fan out through the…
