Diary
Billy Bragg's diary: The right does not own freedom
A great night to be in Pittsburgh. The local baseball team, the Pirates, were attempting to reach their first play-offs…
David Hare's diary: Actresses are smarter than journalists
So mysterious, the Conservative party. In every poll, our five most admired institutions are the NHS, the BBC, the Royal…
Damian McBride: Why I clutched at my trousers in front of Jeremy Paxman
They say nothing beats the feeling of seeing your book in print. But for me, the proudest moment was presenting…
Max Hastings’ diary: I love the British Army (but not the Blackadder version of it)
The looming centenary of the outbreak of the first world war offers an opportunity to break away from the Blackadder/Oh!…
Simon Schama's diary: The British divide? Proms vs 'Am I bovvered'
‘Wider still and wider, may thy bounds be set,’ the ecstatic throng sang at the Last Night of the Proms.…
Harold Evans’s diary: Beware Obama - he always pulls the rug out from under his allies
Days ago, I’d have bet that even the most bitterly partisan Congress in generations would jib at humiliating their commander-in-chief.…
Andrew Marr’s diary: Holidays after a stroke, and what the Germans really think of us
It’s been a strange summer. After a stroke, holidays are not what they used to be. We went to Juan-les-Pins…
Kirsty Wark’s diary: On the Caledonian sleeper, the new Donna Tartt, and a week of Edinburgh shows
There isn’t a Scottish politician in living memory who hasn’t been on the Caledonian Sleeper. I always imagined Donald Dewar…
Kirstie Allsopp’s diary: Why I’m terrified of Woman’s Hour
If you haven’t scuffled you haven’t lived, and our local scuffle is the best of the best. A scuffle is…
Roger Scruton’s diary: Finding Scrutopia in the Czech Republic
Hay-making was easy this year, and over in good time for a holiday. I am opposed to holidays, having worked…
Conrad Black’s farewell to the British press
The astonishing level of enthusiasm over the birth of the new prince goes far beyond the pleasure that people naturally…
Douglas Murray’s diary: My gay wedding dance-off with Julie Burchill
The pilot refuses to get going until everyone is seated and quiet. When we take off there are raucous cheers.…
Nigel Farndale’s diary: The dread moment when they announce next year's school fees
Next time I’m in a sauna I’m going to say: ‘It’s like a school sports hall on prize day in…
Diary
The frantic promotion of the proposed HS2 rail line — a white elephant in the making — is a reminder…
Christopher Sykes’s diary: David Hockney, Bridlington lobster, and the risks of a third martini
I began my week with a trip to Bridlington, the closest seaside town to my childhood home. ‘Brid’, as it’s…
