Mad matrons and horrid housemistresses
It’s not often that books make me laugh aloud. Even books I’m officially finding funny often do no more than…
Not-so-sweet 16
I like novelists who don’t try to do everything in their novels, but just to do something well. This is…
Moths vs the middle classes
It’s not the free movement of people I spend my nights fretting about; it’s the free movement of pests. It’s…
A gaping hole in the week
This is a gem of a book for Radio 4 lovers, particularly those of us who work out which day…
A word in your ear
Do you, or do you not, fork out for an audioguide — one of those necklace-like, strappy contraptions you’re offered…
Who will be London’s next bishop?
In typical theatrical style, the outgoing Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, he of the sonorous voice and imposing beard, ‘never…
Who will be London’s next bishop?
In typical theatrical style, the outgoing Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, he of the sonorous voice and imposing beard, ‘never…
Who will be London’s next bishop?
In typical theatrical style, the outgoing Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, he of the sonorous voice and imposing beard, ‘never…
Poor bewildered beasts
If you’ve ever read a history of the early days of the Foundling Hospital, you’ll remember the shock: expecting to…
In praise of Advent
The first Sunday of Advent is 27 November this year. For those of us who prefer Advent services to Christmas…
In praise of Advent
The first Sunday of Advent is 27 November this year. For those of us who prefer Advent services to Christmas…
Sweet sorrow
So, is that it? The end of sweetness, and the end of taste? Physically speaking, those things will no doubt…
Hope, fights and grammar schools
A typical Kentish town, with its grammar school at one end and its secondary school at the other, is a…
The vanity line
Jeremy Corbyn may not be right about many things, but when he sat on the floor of a train, hoping…
Death in Greenwich
With the current political saga running in our heads, trumping all other stories, it has been hard to concentrate on…
Imperial ambitions
Early on the morning of Friday 24 June, Darren Gratton went into his butcher’s shop in Barnstaple and changed his…
