Thirty years on, Rita, Sue and Bob Too remains one of Britain's greatest films
Hilary Mantel called the film ‘remorselessly indecent’, but William Cook fell head over heels in love with Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Ruislip Lido
Most mornings, if I’m not too hung-over, I go for a run around Ruislip Lido — a mile there, through…
Germany’s history might have been as peaceful (and dull) as Switzerland’s
Go into any high street bookshop and find the European history section. There’s usually a shelf or two on France…
This election will be won or lost on the suburban battleground
The PM knows victory is to be found among the privet hedges
Was Nazi art really that bad?
Bad men and bad politics don’t necessarily equal bad art. So perhaps it’s time to reassess Hitler’s taste in painting, says William Cook
A match made in heaven
Chess fan William Cook takes a masterclass in Marrakech
Zurich’s hidden rock’n’roll side
On the green edge of Zurich, where this neat and tidy city melts into neat and tidy countryside, an icon…
The secret of the universe in 250 pages
A few years ago, in Berne, I visited the apartment where Einstein wrote his theory of special relativity, which changed…
The real secret of Swiss watch craft: apprentices
Switzerland’s watch apprentices are all winners, says William Cook
One’s watch
Even queens wear Patek Philippe, says William Cook
Nostalgia and nationalism: an erzatz castle to symbolise the new Germany
William Cook on the rebuilding of the Berliner Schloss
The woman who could win when Angela Merkel can’t
The German chancellor risks defeat if she does not stand aside
Going to boarding school at age 16 changed my life
A new school at age 16 changed my life, says William Cook. That’s why I’m doing the same for my son
Dr Ali Khan’s guide to the new germ warfare
Which disease are you most scared of catching: Ebola or influenza? Before I read this medical memoir, I would have…
What dogs are really up to
Before I read this book, I thought I knew what a dog was. It barks, it wags its tail, it…
Confessions of a Saga lout
Baby boomers like me aren’t giving up irresponsible hedonism as we age. We’re just getting worse at it
Take the plunge in Baden-Baden
For a nude dip in the spa, high-stakes drama atthe casino, or both, Baden-Baden is a place torelax in the grand old style, says William Cook
The frightening, fascinating, inspiring story of radiation
About a century ago, scientists started meddling with an unfamiliar force of nature and the rest of us were terrified.…
Even Corbyn would find Thomas More’s Utopia too leftwing
Thomas More’s 1516 classic is a textbook for our troubled times, says William Cook
My surreal Christmas in hospital with a dangerously ill child
My surreal Christmas in hospital with a dangerously ill child
The Heckler: those who doubt the brilliance of Phil Collins are snobs
Three boos for those rotten spoilsports who started an online petition against Phil Collins coming out of retirement (there’s already…
On a remote outpost of the Peloponnese, this could be a blueprint to revive the Greek tourist trade
Sitting beneath an ancient olive tree, mugging up on Greek philosophy with Doctor Eleni Volonaki from Kalamata University, I suddenly…
The work of Elisabeth Frink is ripe for a renaissance
In a converted barn in Dorset, not far from the rural studio where she made many of her greatest sculptures,…
On a British newspaper, Tintin would have been fired years ago
Reading Tintin when I was a child, in Britain in the 1970s, I always assumed Georges Remi’s creation was just…
What's so special about German Christmas markets
Why the fuss about German Christmas markets? Surely they’re just schmaltzy shanty towns, full of stuff you’d never dream of…
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