History
Curiosities for Christmas
There is not, sadly, a dedicated Trivia Books section in your local Waterstones, although at this time of year there…
Sic transit: the buildings we treasure most are often the ones we’ve never seen
Here are two books which have almost nothing in common: form, function, source material, methodology, all utterly different. The surprise…
The Church of England’s shameful betrayal of bishop George Bell
The Church of England has rushed to posthumously condemn one of the greatest men it has produced
Sri Lanka makes me yearn to be a pre-war tea planter
James Delingpole tastes bliss in the steamy heat
Notes from a very small island: wonderful, eccentric Ascension
A toast to Ascension Island – remote, eccentric, and now vital to the space race – on its 200th birthday
Can politicians say ‘crusade’ again? David Cameron thinks so
One thing grabbed my attention from David Cameron’s speech, long ago in the middle of last week. ‘We need a…
Proof that the British hardly ever had a stiff upper lip
The last time I cried was September 1989. That was my first week at public school. The reason I cried…
Barometer
The death of Diesel The Volkswagen scandal has brought into question the future of the diesel engine. A century ago…
Diary
Jeremy Corbyn has been compared to plenty of people over the past few months — a geography teacher, Michael Foot,…
A terrible beauty
A.S. Byatt on the dark, deadly secrets lurking beneath a calm, white surface
Diary
During our annual odyssey around the Scottish Highlands, I read Tears of the Rajas, Ferdinand Mount’s eloquent indictment of imperial…
Livy on immigration policy
In the migration crisis, the EU is currently acting just like the ancients, as if border controls did not exist,…
Forget Chilcot
What we really need is an inquiry into why so many of us are so eager to support ‘humanitarian’ wars
Diary
Should we have celebrated VJ Day? Hearing the hieratic tones of the Emperor Hirohito on Radio 4 the other day,…
Labour’s losing instinct
The party always swings left after defeats. But this time is worse
Hamburg
‘What was it like growing up in Liverpool?’ a journalist asked John Lennon. ‘I didn’t grow up in Liverpool,’ he…
Who dares lies
Why do so many men (including Sir Christopher Lee) fib about serving with the SAS?
Political memorabilia
My first reaction on hearing of Margaret Thatcher’s death in 2013 was: ‘Great — now my autograph from her will…
Barometer
The spirit of 1945 No one would have been more surprised at the sight of 100,000 people marching in London…
The Spectator’s notes
People write about ‘Grexit’ and ‘Brexit’ as if they were the same, but they need not be. Grexit is about…
The devils’ advocate
Jeremy Hutchinson was the doyen of the criminal bar in the 1960s and 1970s. No Old Bailey hack or parvenu…
Barometer
Dropping the Clangers The Clangers made a comeback on BBC television. Some Clanger facts: — The actors doing the voices…
A lot to ask
David Cameron is now facing the biggest challenge of his leadership: how to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the EU without…
The surfer, the sailor and the horseman: prosperity is all about personal stories
The tectonic plates of economic life rumble and shift. As ever, market watchers are obsessed by big themes — and…
A warrant for exit
The European Arrest Warrant is incompatible with our tradition of justice
