Dam shame: what really caused Valencia’s floods?
Who is to blame for the devastating floods that hit Valencia on 29 October? The mob that surrounded King Felipe…
Gen Z love ecstatic dance. Would I?
Two months ago I moved to London and found it a disorientating experience. Most of my friends were already settled…
Could inheritance tax changes help farmers in the long run?
Britain’s farmers are in a bind. Despite sitting on land worth millions, they are unable to release that wealth without…
My glimpse into a childless world
If you are looking for a pointer for the future of the world, the free-diving fisherwomen on the matriarchal, shamanistic…
Labour’s war on the countryside
Two miles from where I am writing, the neighbouring village is plastered with posters demanding ‘Say No to Pylons’. The…
In defence of the liberal elite
You can hear it already. Rising from the tents of the dejected Democrat camp comes the whimper of self-reproach. It’s…
Letters: What is the Chancellor trying to achieve?
Zero-sum game Sir: Though troubled by the impact of Budget measures on employers and economic growth, I am more baffled…
Is No. 10 coming for game shooting next?
I confess I was lunching at L’Escargot in Greek Street as Rachel Reeves delivered her Budget. My excuse was that…
Spy-drama porn: Sky’s The Day of the Jackal reviewed
All the previewers have been drooling lasciviously over The Day of the Jackal reboot and, having seen the first three…
One beauty – one turkey: Wexford Festival Opera reviewed
‘Theatre within Theatre’ was the theme of the 2024 Wexford Festival and with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford’s The Critic, that’s…
Radio 4’s Lord Lucan series is rescued by a brilliant narrator
It was 50 years ago this week, on 7 November 1974, that Lord Lucan fled what was destined to become…
A riveting show crammed with the kind of risky gags rarely heard on stage these days
How To Survive Your Mother is a play based on a memoir by political dramatist Jonathan Maitland. He portrays himself…
Sad but beautiful exhibition of Afghanistan’s war rugs
Decades after its inclusion in the Hippie Trail, Afghanistan is again open to tourism, according to the Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah…
Too cautious and wildly over the top at the same time: Paddington in Peru reviewed
Toy Story or The Godfather? Which way would Paddington in Peru go? Would the third instalment of a much-cherished series…
Terrifically good value: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds reviewed
A few years ago, I received an early morning phone call from Nick Cave’s former PR, berating me for not…
Much more than just a game: World of Warcraft at 20
On 23 November, the video game World of Warcraft celebrates its 20th anniversary. That’s no small thing. By most metrics,…
The shame of being an alcoholic mother
Julia Hamilton and her daughter Arabella Byrne share their experiences of an addiction that seemed ‘baked into them like a curse’, and the special stigma they felt attached to them
