Bookends: Unbalanced chorus
Imagine a 77-year-old woman hanging around, say, Leicester bus station, telling people about her life. She confides her belief that…
Latham’s law
Some funny things happen in the world of political reporting, but none more absurd than the profile of John Howard’s…
Wild life
Kenya Marriage can be hard for all of us. A friend of mine, we’ll call him Charles, works far away…
Latham’s law
When Russell Crowe urged South Sydney’s members to let him take over their club in 2006 he said they should…
Latham’s Law
The timbre in his voice was on the shrill side of excitable. Nothing thrilled this young Labor hopeful more than…
Underneath the arches
The Elephant and Castle shopping centre is more of an oddity than an eyesore. It lies like a stricken container…
Wild life
Weregoi Plains Three shots rang out in the night air. Rustlers had attacked my neighbour’s boma a few hundred metres…
Underneath the arches
The Elephant and Castle shopping centre is more of an oddity than an eyesore. It lies like a stricken container…
Latham’s Law
It used to be said of the late American President Richard Nixon, if he rubbed his nose he was telling…
Latham’s law
If nothing else, the Liberal party’s candidates have an impressive turn of foot. If nothing else, the Liberal party’s candidates…
Wild life
Indonesia In a Jakarta traffic jam it hits me. After decades of frenetic travel, I have learnt less of the…
Latham’s law
Immigration minister Chris Bowen chose a curious venue for the launch of his statement on the revitalisation of multiculturalism. Just…
Latham’s law
In as much as a quirky, irreverent magazine like The Spectator Australia has an ideology, it would be called conservative.…
Wild life
Democratic Republic of Congo It is impossible to predict how a person will behave in a tight spot. I have…
Latham’s law
Forget the bellowing absurdity of Oprah, the true saviour of our tourism industry is Western Australia’s sunshine. Forget the bellowing…
Wild life
Juba In the run-up to this week’s referendum on Southern Sudan’s future, I flew to Juba with a bottle of…
Wild life
Laikipia A Christmas gift of perfume smelling of chocolate caused my wife Claire to burst into tears. ‘I have never…
Wild life
Laikipia I have a mob of finished Boran steers ready for the holidays. The butchers are suddenly chasing me and…
Funding: Local heroes
I was acting and directing at Helmsley Arts Centre last week, in a little piece of ‘café theatre’ performed in…
Funding: Local heroes
I was acting and directing at Helmsley Arts Centre last week, in a little piece of ‘café theatre’ performed in…
Wild life
Bangkok ‘Any Thai man who is not married is gay,’ said a Thai woman to me. ‘You could say that…
Wild life
Rift Valley The patriarch Jacob Mukhamia Omanyo, grandfather of my friend Celestina, was born in 1888 in western Kenya. For…
Last season
Kenya Our surfing gang — average age 50 — are out in the bay again, dodging sewage, bull sharks and…
Friendly fire
Laikipia, Kenya My cousin Charlie Williams is a young Irish Guards captain about to deploy in Afghanistan. The other day…
Battle lines
South Africa Rarely is Jonathan Clayton, the Times man in Africa, far from the front lines — but this month…
