Notes on…
Marmalade
Marmalade’s had a rough old time of it lately. A recent report in the Telegraph declared it is dying out;…
North Berwick
My home town is better than yours. Don’t take my word for it. This month North Berwick was crowned ‘best…
Cherry blossom
In what I like to think of as The Spectator’s back garden — most people call it St James’s Park…
The Suffolk-Essex border
You’ve already seen a picture of the Essex-Suffolk border. Assuming you’ve seen Constable’s ‘The Haywain’, that is: the Stour (the…
Dublin’s Jewish museum
I love small museums, and the Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin is a little gem, located in the neighbourhood once…
Wetherspoons
Of all the stories I’ve heard about the fallout from Brexit — families divided, work jeopardised, friendships ended — the…
Rodin at 100
The girl who posed for Auguste Rodin’s figure of Eve on the ‘Gates of Hell’ was, the sculptor said, a…
Dogs for children
Henry, our springer spaniel, has died, suddenly and prematurely. With the passing weeks, we are becoming accustomed to the strange…
British placenames
British placenames are so good you can read the map for entertainment rather than navigation. Hardington Mande-ville, Bradford Peverell, Carlton…
Corduroy
Every Christmas, I ask my loved ones for at least two pairs of corduroy trousers. Off with a sigh tramps…
Late-season skiing
There’s trouble brewing in the Alps. Skiers arriving in the mountains over Christmas were greeted, not by snow-clad chalets and…
Not owning a car
On two occasions, sainted members of my family have offered me a car for nothing. Both times, I turned them…
Pub quizzes
For more than 20 years now, I have been trudging up the hill to the Prince of Wales in Highgate…
Hangovers
Although drinking excessive levels of alcohol is up there with Olympic cycling and democracy as things the British excel at,…
Hangovers
Although drinking excessive levels of alcohol is up there with Olympic cycling and democracy as things the British excel at,…
A good night’s sleep
Have you, on hearing the story of the princess who felt a pea through 40 feather mattresses, ever thought that…
Zurich’s wild side
On the green edge of Zurich, where this neat and tidy city melts into neat and tidy countryside, an icon…
Zurich’s wild side
On the green edge of Zurich, where this neat and tidy city melts into neat and tidy countryside, an icon…
National Hunt racing
‘A more thrilling, uplifting, glorious way of living has yet to be invented,’ the jockey John Francome said of National…
National Hunt racing
‘A more thrilling, uplifting, glorious way of living has yet to be invented,’ the jockey John Francome said of National…
The Marx Memorial Library
There’s a small corner of Clerkenwell where the communist dream never died. The Marx Memorial Library has been in its…
Notes on California
The mood in California was apologetic. Most people we met seemed embarrassed that their country’s dirty laundry was being aired…
Notes on California
The mood in California was apologetic. Most people we met seemed embarrassed that their country’s dirty laundry was being aired…
Burlington Arcade
It all began with oysters. Londoners used to eat them as they walked along, throwing away the shells much as…
Notes on… Champagne
The British are notoriously cheap when it comes to wine; the average bottle price is around £6. On one wine,…
