lockdown
The year of living contagiously
We have reached Covid-19’s first anniversary in the UK — and I really think we should do something fitting to…
A salute to the ‘inessential’
A common sight across Britain these past ten months has been those rainbow flags fluttering in urban and village streets:…
Diary
I start the week with someone throwing faeces at me. I thought people were supposed to clap for doctors these…
The freedom paradox
Who would have thought, this time last year, that the British government would be planning to detain British nationals at…
Inside the Dutch anti-lockdown riots
Images of Dutch rioters throwing stones and fireworks at police, looting shops and facing water cannon have been published all…
Diary
Monday started with me opening my bedroom windows to let what little light there is come through, only to find…
My vaccine approval process
Has the coup happened yet? You have the advantage over me. It was supposed to have taken place on Sunday.…
A lost generation
At the start of the Covid-19 crisis, Chris Whitty often made the point that a pandemic kills in two ways:…
Gulf stream
Instagramming from Dubai isn’t ‘work’
Real life
Not long after he took on a smallholding for his cobs, the builder boyfriend found a couple walking through his…
The right balance
When lockdown was first proposed in March, one of the many arguments against it was that people would tolerate being…
My recipe for mayhem
Caroline was pretty heroic during the first lockdown. She’s used to having no children to deal with between the hours…
Open that special bottle now
Losing your sense of smell due to Covid is no joke when you make a living in food and wine.…
Dear Mary
Q. My husband and I have two single friends who we believe should be introduced. In days gone by, we…
Real life
Never mind Clap for Carers, I’m trying to start a new weekly morale booster called Scream If You’re Going Round…
We believe what we want to believe
Following his disgruntled supporters’ rampage through the Capitol, Donald Trump’s fate hangs in the balance. But one artefact of this…
Blanket restrictions
The stifling cult of self-care
Critical mass
Why I’m keeping my church open
Letters
Lockdown damage Sir: I am sick and tired of people taking the moral high ground and looking down on ‘lockdown…
Portrait of the week
Home The government, in the face of overwhelming numbers of people with Covid-19 being admitted to hospital, told everyone to…
The delicate balancing act of lockdown messaging
Matt Hancock spent Monday evening trying to explain a very delicate tension to the public. There’s the good news of…
High life
Gstaad Chekhovian boredom ruled supreme, but the loss of my luggage brought instant relief. Anger beats boredom by a mile,…
Punishment stocks
Welcome to the sunlit uplands which, for me, contain small plastic tubs of stock, which is just the opening to…
A dog is not just for lockdown
The Dogs Trust charity received 114 calls on 27 and 28 December from people wanting to offload their puppies. No,…
Portrait of the Week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced harsher coronavirus restrictions in England, resembling those last March, except that bubbles continued.…
