Life
Is it ever ok to call women ‘birds’?
Towards the end of the 1980s, Jeffrey Bernard, late of this magazine, sometimes used to wear grey shoes with jeans…
Aussie life
At the same time you were hearing about the second attempt on Donald Trump’s life, you can be sure that…
Language
Speccie reader Peter has written asking me to write something about ‘begs the question’, which, he says, is ‘regularly misused…
Why is it so hard to hire a car?
My passport and driving licence sat on the counter but the girl stared back at me, repeating her demand. ‘I…
Did Michael Gove mean what he said?
I thought the Spectator dinner for Michael Gove hosted by Fraser Nelson would be cancelled. To be clear, this wasn’t…
Sorry, but you’ve got to love the Springboks
There may still be some poor benighted souls who regard the Springboks as the bane of rugby union. If you…
The joy of tarte Tatin
When it comes to traditional recipes, there are few things we love more than an unlikely origin story, ideally one…
The joy of the early autumn Newmarket meetings
There’s no shrewder punter than J.P. McManus who likes to say: ‘There’d be many more fish in the sea if…
Move over, Mrs Bennet – I’ve seen two daughters married in less than a month
Provence A few days before my middle daughter’s Oxfordshire wedding this summer, my youngest announced that she and her fiancé,…
An inedible catastrophe: Julie’s Restaurant reviewed
At Julie’s at the fag end of Saturday lunchtime, Notting Hill beauties are defiantly not eating, and the table is…
Aussie life
The recent sci-fi movie Paradise Hills delivered one gem for this viewer; the choristers’ white ruffs setting off each young…
Language
Speccie reader Raymond has asked me to explain the meaning of the compound noun ‘common sense.’ It was Aristotle who…
The Mad Men theory of drunk decision-making
In electing this government, we seem to have picked the worst of both worlds: higher taxation combined with austerity in…
Why play the Saudi anthem before an all-British boxing match?
For only the second time in my life, I went to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia last weekend. At least,…
