Christmas
It’s been a tough year for socialites
New York Here we go again, the annual holiest of holies is upon us, although to this oldie last Christmas…
I Live Here Now: a short story by Ian Rankin
A short story. Illustrated by Carolyn Gowdy
Theresa May’s recipe for Christmas cake
This recipe was given to me years ago by an old friend — hence the imperial measurements — and I…
How to find hope in a year filled with despair
Finding hope in a year like no other
The wonderful ghosts of Christmas past
Seances, trikes and the miracle of tinfoil
A romcom with very little com: BBC1’s Black Narcissus reviewed
In Black Narcissus, based on the novel by Rumer Godden, five nuns set off for a remote Himalayan palace in…
Food to absorb alcohol: Christmas hampers reviewed
There is straw inside the Fortnum & Mason Christmas Treat Hamper (£100). As the straw drifts through the house, it…
On the trail of one of the first artists to paint ordinary things
The Master of Flémalle was one of the first painters to depict in detail the reality of ordinary things. But who was he? Martin Gayford finds a prime suspect
The anxieties that long ago shadowed Christmas are back
The anxieties that long ago shadowed Christmas are back
The Darvell marvel has brought joy to a Covid Christmas
Many ingenious ways of evading Covid-19 have been devised to assist commerce, fewer to assist worship. In our next-door village,…
Do divorces really increase after Christmas?
Now and then Were households allowed to mix at Christmas during the plague? Samuel Pepys’s diary entry for 25 December…
The joy of a cancelled Christmas
Among the greatest bores right now are those friends who insist on telling you, usually as if it’s some kind…
Joan Collins: The politics of Christmas trees
To say that the past nine months have been tough is like saying a hurricane felt like a spring shower.…
Mick Fleetwood: Why Peter Green was the greatest guitarist
In a normal week, I would jam with local musicians, but that stopped in March and we musicians miss the…
Deserves to be a permanent winter fixture: Potted Panto at the Garrick reviewed
Potted Panto is a 70-minute parody presented by two burlesque comedians. Jeff is a tall, playful bungler and his colleague,…
Every page of this astonishingly beautiful ode to the citrus is a treat
Laura Freeman is transported by J.C. Volkamer’s astonishingly beautiful ode to the citrus
The magic of Anthony Powell
Every few years I’ve picked up one or other of Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time series…
My fateful appearance at the Bank of England’s Christmas drinks
Tidings of comfort as the vaccination programme advances, but shortage of joy. That’s my summary of a season in which…
Boris Johnson’s Christmas Covid gamble
Boris Johnson is taking a gamble with his decision to stick with the easing of Covid restrictions for Christmas. The…
Four-nations Christmas Covid truce hangs in balance
It’s become a regular refrain to hear that Brexit talks have been extended. Now the same applies to negotiations over…
Was endorsing Boris one of my worst misjudgments ever?
Now that our social lives are a Venn diagram that only mathematicians can understand I am officially becoming a recluse.…
Melania’s au revoir to Christmas
Washington DC It’s still dark outside and dumping rain as the media waits for the annual White House Holiday Decor…
Which countries are most sceptical about vaccines?
Gloss over Should we be worried that the head of research into respiratory drugs at AstraZeneca is called Dr Pangalos,…
Dear Mary: How can I stop my boss giving me a Christmas hamper?
Q. For many years my boss gave each member of his small team a very generous Christmas gift voucher from…
Portrait of the week: Christmas is on, Trump is off and Piglet stars on a 50p piece
Home The AstraZeneca vaccine developed by the University of Oxford was found to be 70 per cent effective — 90…
