‘An uneasy place’: Chez Roux at The Langham reviewed
The Langham is a Victorian Gothic hotel opposite the BBC in Portland Place. It’s an odd place: haunted house near…
‘Punishingly dull – but the crowd loved it’: Next to Normal, at Wyndham’s Theatre, reviewed
The Constituent is a larky show about violence against female politicians. A strange subject for a comedy. Anna Maxwell Martin…
‘Left me stunningly bored’: Brat, by Charli XCX, reviewed
Grade: C I don’t doubt the ingenuity. The mastery of a technology which now exists as a substitute for melody,…
My garden decor advice for Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson has three lifesize, carved wooden elephants in his garden, given to him by his wife for his 60th…
The day I met a sun priest
Palomino, Colombia I’m in a truly wonderful place: the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It’s got more bird species than most…
Teenage Swifties restored my faith in strangers
Taylor Swift is the last of the monocultural pop icons. Put it this way: I bet you’ve heard of her.…
A memorable Royal Ascot
You tend to like a jockey who has just ridden you a 16-1 winner, as Callum Shepherd did last Saturday…
You shouldn’t be afraid of steak tartare
Whenever I think of steak tartare, I can’t help but remember a heartbreaking passage in Nigel Slater’s memoir Toast. Slater,…
Putin is trying to annexe people, not just land
On 1 September 2021, six months before his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin was speaking at the All-Russian Children’s…
Can things only get better under Starmer?
‘We are the masters now,’ I chirrup to my Holborn and St Pancras neighbours – misquoting Labour attorney-general Hartley Shawcross…
How Nigel Farage became the left’s greatest weapon
Nigel Farage is about to turn British politics upside-down for a third time. His Ukip insurgency forced the Tories to…
Can independent candidates pose a threat to Labour?
Nigel Farage says that Britain is ready for a ‘revolt’, and he’s not the only candidate in this election committed…
What’s the worst that can happen for the Tories?
When Rishi Sunak stunned his cabinet colleagues by calling a snap election, they feared the worst. Fast forward a month…
The problem with flexible working
Lots and lots and lots of fuss about betting on the general election. Less attention is paid to the biggest…
I lost to Harry Kane at darts
Gareth Southgate has always been a man interested in life outside the football circus. When he played for England, I…
Portrait of the week: gambling politicians, gender rows and a free Julian Assange
Home The Conservative party withdrew its support from two parliamentary candidates, Craig Williams (who was parliamentary private secretary to the…
The ideas-free election
On the face of it, 2024 is a great year for democracy. Britain is one of 50 countries to hold…
Dear Mary: how to rumble a snooper
Q. I like and get on well with my sister-in-law. My problem is that she is incredibly nosy and I…
France’s ‘Somewheres’ want revenge
The builder who has been working on my house in Burgundy will be voting for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally…
