Welcome to Scuzz Nation
Reform’s success in last week’s local elections has been attributed to many causes. Labour’s abolition of the winter fuel payment…
The Reformation is here
These are dark and bewildering days for Britain’s community of Good People, the ones who – insulated from material discomfort…
The changing face of Nigel Farage
On Monday night, a hundred Reform staff and donors met at a Marylebone pub to toast the local election results.…
How silence makes music
‘What!? But they won’t let you in!’ and ‘What!? But they’ll detain you at the border!’ and ‘What!? But they’re…
Portrait of the week: Reform party’s victories, Duke of Sussex’s defeat and Deliveroo’s takeover
Home In a day that upset the apple cart of party politics, Reform won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by…
My hunt for the perfect ‘mum van’
I spent my childhood being ferried around in my mom’s minivan, a hunter green Ford Windstar. Compared with most family…
Our politicians find truth more painful than fiction
Do you remember the great Adolescence debate? It may feel like an age ago, but way back in March Netflix…
Poise and gentleness: Hiroshige, at the British Museum, reviewed
Why is Hiroshige’s work so delightful? While his close predecessor Hokusai has more drama in his draughtsmanship, Hiroshige’s pastoral visions…
Hell is having house guests
Since we moved into our house in the Cyclades a few years ago, I’ve come to accept that if you…
Letters: Our private schools are China’s next target
Ka-shing in Sir: Ian Williams highlights (‘Chasing the dragon’, 3 May) the degree to which the Chinese state has acquired…
Art deco gave veneer and frivolity a bad name
The jazz style was the blowsy filling between the noxious crusts of two world wars. More than 30 years passed…
What did Leni Riefenstahl know?
Leni Riefenstahl: what are we to make of her? What did she know? Often described as ‘Hitler’s favourite filmmaker’, she…
Spectator Competition: That’s your cue
Competition 3398 invited you to submit a poem about snooker as the world champion-ship was under way. The entries poured…
My ones to watch this season
With racing there is always a little history involved. One of the few top races John Gosden has never won…
Back to winning ways
Vasyl Ivanchuk was at the centre of a heart-rending scene during the tenth round of the World Blitz Championship in…
If the numbers add up, Shell should bid for BP
A hangar full of analysts and investment bankers must have spent the long weekend formulating advice for Shell chief executive…
Are you a ‘tidsoptimist’?
Last week Caroline sent me an Instagram reel that featured a Norwegian word and its English translation. A ‘tidsoptimist’, I…
Inspired: Scottish Opera’s Merry Widow reviewed
The Merry Widow was born in Vienna but she made her fortune in the West End and on Broadway. The…
Confection of sex, bad history and nonsense: Apple TV+’s Carême reviewed
Antonin Carême was known as the ‘chef of kings and the king of chefs’. His patrons and employers included Talleyrand,…
Studying Dickens at university was once considered demeaning. Now it’s too demanding
Accessible, ‘relevant’ short stories are increasingly replacing the classics, as the monuments of Victorian literature defeat today’s undergraduates
The powerfully disorienting world of Mark Eitzel
There’s a lot to be said for an artist making an audience feel uncomfortable. Richard Thompson used to say that…
