Features
Europe’s culture clash: Macron vs Salvini is a battle over a continent’s soul
Two weeks ago Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s vice-premier and Labour Minister and the top politician of the Five Star Movement…
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I was forced to wear a hijab. It wasn’t liberating
It was World Hijab Day earlier this month. You probably missed it, but you can imagine the idea: ‘global citizens’…
How the cult of victimhood took hold of the royal family
Over the centuries, the British royal family have been many things: conquerors, vanquishers, tyrants and buffoons. They have been denied…
The eerie beauty of London’s abandoned Tube stops
If you’ve ever travelled on London’s Piccadilly Line, you may have noticed that on the stretch between Green Park and…
Carmageddon: The future is catching up with the motor giants
When Nissan announced it would not, after all, produce its new X-Trail in Sunderland, this was reported as proof of…
Europeans can’t understand the existential drive behind the British wish to leave the EU
What can the EU do to help the Britons out of their Brexit quagmire? Until very recently, the answer would…
The mystery of the raided horses
‘Can I get you a cup of tea?’ asked the lady as she sat beside me in the caravan. The…
‘If I get an adrenaline rush, something’s gone wrong’: An interview with Free Solo’s Alex Honnold
My husband, usually a cool customer, watched Free Solo from behind his fingers, sometimes jumping up from the sofa and…
Dating apps are full of ‘woke’ profiles – no wonder we’re no longer having sex
I interviewed a prominent 1970s women’s liberationist recently and ended up discussing the sexual culture of her political heyday. ‘Everyone…
The financial logic behind HS2 is collapsing. It’s time to pull the plug
No one is in any doubt about the problem facing Britain’s railways. Over the past decade, rail fares have risen…
Here in freezing Chicago we’re secretly rooting for global warming
One of the few pleasures of advancing age is that, no matter how awful some looming catastrophe may be, you…
The teeth-chattering joys of cold-water swimming
The woman on the path has come to a dead stop. She’d been shuffling along in that bunched-up posture we…
Theresa May has been given a second chance to save Brexit. She’d better not blow it
Theresa May will soon arrive in Brussels with a series of unlikely demands. She must tell the European Union that…
Europe still thinks Britain will come out worse from Brexit. Bless
In Paris in December, I sat with a journalist friend in a café on the Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui and listened to…
Fear and foie gras: a Caracas notebook
A man stopped me in the street in Caracas and grabbed my hand. I was alarmed, but tried not to…
The massive NHS plan to record every single person’s DNA
‘Gene test for sale on NHS,’ blared the headlines last weekend, sparking some anxiety and confusion. The story is that…
I’ve had enough of induction hobs — and I know I’m not the only one
It was a close-run thing for my friend who’s having a new kitchen installed in her house in Chiswick. After…
Addicts love talking about their addiction – but haven’t we suffered enough?
I have always found the parable of the Prodigal Son sickeningly unfair, and I felt this again while driving a…
True crime has never been more popular, but it often forgets the families left behind
I’ve talked to Denise Horvath-Allan more than my own mother this year. Denise’s son Charles went missing while backpacking in…
The big difference between a pile of stones and Piles of Stones
There are piles of stones and then there are piles of stones. Anyone can place one rock upon another, but…
The war on meat has begun – and vegans are winning comfortably
As January — the month of penitence and tax returns — grinds towards its close, it would be foolish to…
Looking for a guilt-free vegetable? Good luck with that
Last week’s Lancet report and its ‘planetary health diet’ of next to no red meat will have bolstered the egos…
Britain has fallen out of love with Italy – as have the Italians
On reading recently that Italian is the fastest disappearing language in America, my thoughts were mixed. I felt fleeting sorrow…
Mugabe mark II: Why Mnangagwa’s rule in Zimbabwe may not last very long
Ten days ago, Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, hiked the price of petrol by 250 per cent, making it the most…
Justin Welby: Catholic or Protestant – who cares?
Justin Welby is working in Thomas Cranmer’s old study in Lambeth Palace, a room that looks as if it hasn’t…
