Why the NHS is like a kitten
Of all the strange behaviours of the rich, owning horses long struck me as the most bizarre. A horse, when…
Dear Mary
Q. I very recently attended my son’s black-tie leavers’ ball at his school on one of the hottest evenings of…
Bottled opera
Glyndebourne. There is no single quintessential example of English scenery, but this is one of the finest. The landscape is …
Arab Spring
Two hundred and forty-years ago next Tuesday, Thomas Gray was buried in his mother’s grave in Stoke Poges churchyard. In…
Diary
The rhythms of my new life are becoming clear. Waking early for exercise, not a morning call. Immersing myself in…
Malcolm, messiah
Justinian II, Charles II, Napoleon, Gladstone, Churchill, Menzies, de Gaulle, Nixon, Wilson, Howard, Clinton, Rudd — what do these figures…
Silencing climate change dissenters
Two Australian universities have ostracised eminent scientists for straying from the ‘consensus’
In the bunker
The rusted-on supporters of the ALP must wonder how it came to this. Six years ago, the ALP was on…
Brown Study
The economic problems of the US are substantial. The recovery is staggering along with occasional bursts of energy, but by…
Notes from reality TV
They say politics is reality TV for ugly people. So draw what you will from my being invited to participate…
Australian notes
It was a stoic little gathering of Craig Thomson loyalists in the Celebrity Room of City Tatts in Sydney. Promoted…
Voyeurs all
Standing enthusiastically by as a naked man writhes in agony might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But this is…
Bottled opera
Glyndebourne. There is no single quintessential example of English scenery, but this is one of the finest. The landscape is …
The turf
A fresh new breeze is wafting through British racing. Led by the enthusiastic Sheikh Fahad Al Thani, the Qatar ruling…
Why the NHS is like a kitten
Of all the strange behaviours of the rich, owning horses long struck me as the most bizarre. A horse, when…
Voyeurs all
Standing enthusiastically by as a naked man writhes in agony might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But this is…
Sorry, but internet trolling will be with us forever
This is not to be a column about Twitter. Can’t abide columns about Twitter. I’ve written a few, I know,…
Do women really watch as much porn as men?
You may be aware that David Cameron — as part of a secret, Lynton Crosby-inspired operation codenamed Suck Up Shamelessly…
Net loss
It is not quite clear what Google did to David Cameron, but the Prime Minister seems to be exacting some…
Portrait of the week
Home The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a boy, weighing 8lb 6oz, an heir to the crown, third in…
Diary
The pilot refuses to get going until everyone is seated and quiet. When we take off there are raucous cheers.…
