I don’t think it’s over in the Balkans
I returned last week from a short break in the Balkans; travelling by train in Serbia, walking from village to…
A far diet from Kensington
Those of you dieting your way to a svelte physique amid the flesh-exposing terrors of summer should take courage from…
A far diet from Kensington
Those of you dieting your way to a svelte physique amid the flesh-exposing terrors of summer should take courage from…
Along the wrong lines
We would not want to return to the days when the transport secretary was actively engaged in the running of…
Portrait of the week
Home The population of the United Kingdom rose by 420,000, to 63.7 million, by the middle of last year, with…
Diary
If you haven’t scuffled you haven’t lived, and our local scuffle is the best of the best. A scuffle is…
Lucretius vs Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins has been confusing his categories again, comparing Trinity College, Cambridge, with Islam. His attack on religion does precisely…
Barometer
Ward ceremony There have been 29 health secretaries since 1948. How many have wards that — though not necessarily named…
Letters
Absent friends Sir: Alec Marsh (‘Welcome to Big Venice’, 10 August) accurately observes that Londoners are priced out of central…
Ed Miliband’s hidden head start
Coming back to the office after a holiday is never a pleasant experience. There’s the clogged inbox, the reminders that…
The sad story of Oprah, the handbag and the shop assistant
Listen, this story is moving so quickly stuff will almost certainly have happened in between me writing it and you…
Ukip are playing it safe – so they’ve rejected me
So farewell then £80,000 salary, £150,000 expense account, secretary, team of assistants, constituency office, first-class travel, immunity from prosecution, Brussels…
House prices are going up again. I fear this is not going to end well
It’s senseless to ask how things are going to end, because things as a general rule don’t. They rumble on,…
Back off, nimbyists, or fracking will benefit Beijing more than Balcombe
The fracking debate has been brought to a new heat by David Cameron’s message to Home Counties nimbyists and eco-crusties…
No more steak tartare?
Stricter food rules won’t make you any safer – but they could ruin many small restaurants
Love-making in Water
Seals — well, they rhyme with steel — can stand the cold. And they can even dive and mate at…
St Tropez Notebook
I recently had to spend a great deal of time attempting to clear my name from a ludicrous assertion in…
Notes on….Walking in the Scottish Highlands
The simplest and best way to get straight to the heart of the Highlands from London is by sleeper. Board…
A pioneer at heart
Richard Davenport-Hines on the tomboy from Red Cloud whose evocation of the vast, unforgiving landscape of the prairies is unrivalled
Redemption with laughs
Harry Christmas, the central character of this bitterly funny debut novel, is a middle- aged, overweight alcoholic, with no friends…
