A lament for the landline
Two years ago my quality of life began to go downhill. It happened when BT Openreach gave our old copper…
What is ‘Starmerism’?
If Keir Starmer didn’t already understand Harold Macmillan’s warning about ‘events, dear boy, events’, he got a lesson on Saturday.…
The real reason I’m leaving Bake Off
I have been dithering for years about when to stop judging The Great British Bake Off. When I joined nine…
Nigel Farage is not infallible
In our online edition, Danny Kruger, who is a dear man and my former employee, attacks our editor, Daniel Finkelstein…
Amelia: the purple-haired goth girl who became a nationalist icon
It has been obvious for some time that there are basic concepts that the liberal British Establishment simply does not…
2737: 19×24 inches
Seven unclued lights (two of two words) precede and four follow a word defined by the title and all are…
Portrait of the week: Burnham blocked, Braverman bails and Starmer clashes with Trump
Home Labour’s National Executive Committee refused permission for Andy Burnham, currently Mayor of Greater Manchester, to stand in a by-election…
Spectator Competition: I’ll take Manhattan
Competition 3434 was prompted by the 400th anniversary of the retrospectively controversial purchase of Manhattan island by the Dutchman Peter…
A decade on, Brexit still means Brexit
It’s been almost a full decade since Britain voted to leave the European Union. Inside Labour, whatever words are muttered…
A tale of two cities
The ‘Wimbledon of Chess’ is underway in the Netherlands. Meanwhile in Spain, there’s a gaming industry expo. Magnus Carlsen and…
Can superintelligent AI be regulated?
In the House of Lords on Monday there was a short discussion, prompted by a question from an ex-Labour minister,…
Dear Mary: How do we get more men to our singles’ events?
Q. Last year I decided to share a flat with an old, but not very close, friend from school. It…
How to drink like you’re at the Savoy – from your sofa
There are two great American bars in London. One is perfect to escape the winter chill, the other to embrace…
Hell is a dog café
The dog café had a pretty pink sign describing its many services and I stood outside it mesmerised as I…
My family is divided on the meaning of ‘genocide’
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna We were en route to the junk shop in search of a pair of robust tongs for…
The stealth philanthropy of buying a Range Rover
Even though Christmas is over, I’ve been thinking about the season just gone. There is a tradition of complaining about…
How we all got hooked on Calpol
At the present count, we have 14 syringes. Some are stuffed in kitchen drawers, but I have also found an…
Pity the modern-day spy novelist
I write spy thrillers that attempt to deal authentically with the world around us. The Syrian civil war. Spy games…
