Family
When trolling pressure groups cause real harm
My grandmother, Nanny Nancy, is 99 and going strong. But it can’t be denied that while she’s all there mentally,…
Why should Nigel Farage have to fight the ghost of Enoch Powell?
One of the genuine seasonal pleasures to be enjoyed as 2013 slipped around the U-bend was Enoch Powell making his…
Don't tax sugar - it doesn't make you fat. Gluttony does
Obesity isn’t a matter of addiction. It’s a question of self-control
Tanya Gold: Child-friendly, sex-free, nut-heavy – just the hotel for my 40th birthday
Woolley Grange is a child-friendly country house hotel that seems, at first, entirely monstrous — a grey Tudor house in…
My 50 weddings
The lessons of a perpetual guest
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…
Jeremy Clarke: The day I walked into a postcard
This time last year the postman delivered a picture postcard depicting a village square in Provence. The photograph on the…
Dear Mary: How can I stop this bore reading his novel aloud?
Q. Is there a polite way of halting a wannabe novelist from reading his oeuvre aloud to an unwilling audience?…
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…
Plato on the Today programme
A woman is invited to join the Today programme, and the chatteratae are immediately a-twitter on the subject of female…
The Contented Royal Baby: Gina Ford on how to bring up Prince George
On raising a royal baby
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…
Books are a load of crap - the sporty kids have got it made
What a glorious sporting summer it has been so far. For some the highlight will have been Andy Murray at…
Can I turn the West London Free School into Fame Academy?
‘Another opening, another show,’ sang five-year-old Charlie on his way to school this morning — and then proceeded to belt…
Dear Mary: Why it's fine to crash funerals
Q. Regarding the writing of ‘no presents’ on an invitation (Dear Mary, 6 July), my own experience is that many…
The saddest discovery of middle age: I can get by without my old friends
A few years ago, I got the shock of my life when a girl I was sitting next to at…
It’s the secret of a successful marriage: my wife treats me like a dog
‘Here, Wolf,’ says the Fawn to me, showing me a saucer. ‘Look at this! This is the new place where…
I’ll tell you what really devalues marriage: patronising, preachy little tax breaks
The Conservative party is trying to redefine marriage. I can’t believe they think they’re going to get away with this.…
Dear Mary: How can I stop my friends giving me Christmas presents?
Q. Over the years my close friends locally have been giving each other birthday and Christmas presents. Now, as I…
