London
How DO you pronounce 'Marylebone'?
‘Take a trip to Marylebone station,’ chanted my husband. ‘Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.’ I had been…
Jack Bauer hits, er, West Ealing
Whatever worries Kiefer Sutherland may have had about reprising the role of Jack Bauer in 24: Live Another Day (Sky1,…
The only way to survive as a cyclist is to behave like you're suicidal
The only way to survive as a London cyclist is to behave like a complete nutter
Governments have failed — mayors are the future
The power to effect real change may lie with dynamic city halls rather than ossified national governments
Gordon Ramsay joins in the posh invasion of Battersea
London House is in Battersea, which some people call South Chelsea, but is more East Wandsworth to my mind; or…
The Spectator's Notes: If Putin can have a referendum, so can Boris
Everyone can see that the West has no idea what to do about Russian power in the Ukraine. Britain, in…
Schools need freeing from the right as well as the left
How politicians wreck education
So is Moro a Tory restaurant now?
Moro (‘moorish’ or ‘sexist’) is a Spanish restaurant on Exmouth Market, near the bones of the old Guardian and Observer…
Very bad poems on the Underground
My husband was surprised by quite a bit when we travelled by Underground in London the other day. Although he…
Why you shouldn't keep elephants
On 15 September 1885, the world’s most famous elephant, Jumbo, was killed by a train. Jumbo, the star attraction at…
Lanes of London is dining for Martians
Lanes of London serves street food to people who hate streets; that is, it exists to soothe the still-curious mouths…
Why I'm on board for the homophobic bus
London has long since lost its allure for me — altogether too many cars, foreigners, cyclists, middle-class liberals and people…
The case against London cabbies
It’s time to end the archaic privileges of London taxi drivers
Dear Mary: How can I escape my neighbour’s spy cameras?
Q. I have a problem with what might be called location blindness. I live in Balham, but when I arrange…
Matthew Parris: Logically, bitcoin fans should love the euro. Why don't they?
Bitcoins have been in the news, after a story about an unfortunate fellow who jettisoned his computer’s hard drive that…
Andrew Marr's notebook: Rescued by Jonathan Ross
We live by simple stories. X has a stroke. X recovers; or doesn’t. But we live inside more complicated stories.…
The men who demolished Victorian Britain
Anyone with a passing interest in old British buildings must get angry at the horrors inflicted on our town centres…
Matthew Parris: I've been living with a miracle for 60 years
This is probably the most self-indulgent column I’ve written. I hope not to make a habit of it. It’s an…
Boulestin has nothing to do with Marcel Boulestin — but could entice Mary Berry
Boulestin is a pretty restaurant on St James’s Street, between the posh fag shop (Davidoff) and the old palace, which…
You're not as special as you think
My preferred route from the Times’s offices in Wapping on to the main road takes me across a precinct then…
Taki: Ugly people build ugly things — look at New York and London
New York Hot money from China, India, Russia and Singapore is pouring into London; hotter money from the same countries…
Simon Jenkins's notebook: Why a wind farm will never be as beautiful as a railway viaduct
Until I plotted a book on England’s best views I had not realised how much people cared. Ask them to…
What a coincidence
If you are going to read a novel that plays with literary conventions you want it written with aplomb. In…
This isn’t a property bubble – it’s a reason to improve London’s transport
Everyone —including me, if I’m honest — has been talking about a new property bubble. But is it for real?…
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…
