Spectator Life

Spectator Life

An intelligent mix of culture, style, travel, food and property, as well as where to go and what to see.

Isabel Hardman

In defence of Kew Gardens’ ‘woke’ signs

Forget statues: the latest victims of the colonialism culture war are racist plants. Ah yes, those menacing snowdrops with their overly white petals and dangerous daffodils. As Mr Steerpike reports, Kew Gardens has entered the fray with a promise to ‘decolonise’ its collections. Presumably the next step is for its sister site in Sussex to

The curious censorship of Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland

Fortunes shift quickly in Chinese cyberspace. On March 1, Chloé Zhao, the Beijing-born film director, was the ‘pride of China’, according to the Chinese Communist Party’s The Global Times. Zhao had just won the best director Golden Globe for her film Nomadland, becoming the first Asian woman in history to win the award, and only

The viral appeal of the aubergine

It seems at first an unlikely ingredient for global domination – particularly if, like me, you first encountered it as an unappetising squidge at the centre of a badly-made seventies moussaka. While the actual aubergine – the palpable purple signature ingredient from said retro Greek bake – remains a relatively minor player in the western

The interview on screen: from Frost/Nixon to Basic Instinct

Whilst not exactly (to paraphrase Richard Burton as Marc Anthony in Cleopatra) the ‘biggest thing to hit Rome since Romulus & Remus’, Oprah Winfrey’s recent interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was certainly A Big Deal. With over 17 million viewers watching in the States and 11.3m here, the renegade former royals cannot

Kazuo Ishiguro’s craft: five novels worth reading

When Kazuo Ishiguro first appeared on the literary scene in the 1980s, his work was often described using terms such as ‘exquisite’, ‘refined’ and ‘understated’. The supposedly Japanese sensibility of this Surrey-raised writer was on full display in his fine second novel An Artist of the Floating World (1986), narrated by a retired artist called

Labour’s TikTok paranoia

As if the Labour party didn’t have enough to worry about with its withering opinion poll ratings, yesterday’s Times reveals that party officials are warning MPs of another potential danger: malicious TikTok parodies. The paper reports that Sir Keir himself is one of several Labour MPs whose names have been used by hard-left TikTok pranksters

Isabel Hardman

Is the Marble Arch mound a joke?

What better way to get shoppers back into London’s West End than by, er, building a large hill in the middle of it? That’s the latest plan from Westminster City Council, who hope that the Marble Arch Hill will lure people back to the area with the promise of stunning views around the city from

Lloyd Evans

Ben Shapiro’s battle with Hollywood

The sacking of Gina Carano is still creating waves in Hollywood. The martial artist turned movie actress was dropped from the Star Wars spin-off, The Mandalorian, after blocking BLM supporters on Twitter and stating that being a Republican in Hollywood was like being a Jew during the Holocaust. She compounded her sins by suggesting that

On this day: which of barbie’s body parts did parents want removed?

Every weekend Spectator Life brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history … 6 March In 1957 Ghana achieved independence from Britain. The country’s subsequent heroes have included Ferdie Ato Adoboe, who holds the world record for the fastest time to run 100 metres backwards

Fake views: the problem with Netflix documentaries

Netflix gets a lot of stick for being woke these days – and not just from this parish. And when you look at the network’s recent signings, it’s not hard to see why. From hiring Michelle Obama to present kids’ shows to splashing out on the Sussexes, Netflix executives don’t exactly hide their worldview. But for

‘Perpetuating falsehoods’: films about royal fiascos

As the nation waits with bated breath for Sunday’s broadcast of Oprah Winfrey’s already notorious interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, here’s a smorgasbord of royalty in the movies, both real and fictional. With the success of Netflix’s, The Crown at the Golden Globes (granted a semi-seal of approval from Prince Harry) and the

Parents should stop complaining about World Book Day

Every year, at the same time, they come – great flocks of them. Squawking, squabbling, screeching. Never mind the first cuckoo call or the sighting of the earliest swallow, there is no more reliable metric in modern Britain for the arrival of spring than parents moaning about their children having to dress up for World

Taylor Swift and the problem with ‘sexist’ jokes

It is the third day of Women’s History Month, and instead of talking about a range of female accomplishments and achievements; everyone is instead, once again, talking about Taylor Swift. Swift tweeted yesterday, criticising the Netflix series Ginny and Georgia for its ‘lazy, deeply sexist joke’ which apparently is ‘degrading hard working women.’ The joke

James Delingpole

Beyond Parasite: the genius of Bong Joon Ho

While we weren’t looking, the countries we used to patronise for their charming but niche ‘World Cinema’, started making movies often classier, more interesting and definitely less woke than we do in the English-speaking world. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in South Korea. South Korean directors have mastered the horror genre, with classics

The truth about the Gen Z abstinence fad

MeToo may have fundamentally shifted the way men and women interact, but that hasn’t stopped a musty, old turn of the century relationship manual from making a surprise comeback. In Sherry Argov’s 2001 bestseller Why Men Love Bitches, the journalist offers tips on how to bag a man. Her principal premise is a surprising one:

The sad decline of The Simpsons

In the latest episode of ‘Americans Do the Funniest Things,’ it has emerged that The Simpsons is to replace the white voice actor for the character of Dr. Julius Hibbert with a black actor.  Hibbert, for those who don’t know him, is a mainstay of the show — a family doctor recognised by his white

On this day: what motto is written on Elton John’s coat of arms?

Every weekend the Spectator brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history … February 27 Elizabeth Taylor (born 1932). The actress’s 2011 funeral started 15 minutes behind schedule, on her own instructions. Her spokesman confirmed that she ‘even wanted to be late for her

Nick Tyrone

The worst political speeches of the decade

In thinking about the worst political speeches delivered in Britain, I reached for lectures that weren’t just technically poor but epoch defining in their badness. Each one had to have said something larger about the inherent problems of the political class in our beleaguered age. With that in mind, in descending order, here are five

After Lupin: 8 French dramas to watch this weekend

Netflix’s reimagining of the Arsene Lupin franchise has been quite the success, with an estimated 70 million households streaming the series last month. But with some months to go until the next batch of episodes, Francophiles will need something to tide them over. Here are our suggestions: Le Bureau ”  France’s rather brooding answer to

Damian Reilly

What’s Bill Gates’ beef with flatulent cows?

‘Fart for freedom, fart for liberty – and fart proudly’, was how Benjamin Franklin put it shortly after founding the United States. It’s an injunction the cows of the developed world appear to have taken seriously: a strategy for liberation, executed brilliantly you have to say, that seems finally to have brought them to the

MC Hammer is philosophy’s new champion

Philosophy has a new champion. MC Hammer, hip hop artist and record producer, known for songs like ‘Can’t Touch This’, used Twitter to respond to someone who dismissed philosophy as mere ‘flirtation with ideas’, and who claimed that science alone is ‘commitment to the truth’. Hammer hammered him. ‘You bore us’, he said, pointing out

The problem with renaming London’s streets

In Taksim Square, the busy central hub of Istanbul, a large, viril monument stands. In the centre is Mustafa Kemal Attaturk, the father of modern Turkey (although, perhaps not the contemporary one). When Attaturk came into power, he immediately set about changing the country from Empire to Nation. This meant progressive Western values, the alphabet;

British comedy needs a new Brass Eye

Britain has always prided itself on the rich diversity of its comedy output, from trouser splitting farce to cerebral satire but our genius for tickling the world’s funny bone has reached a crisis point – something has gone terribly awry. A new report on the BBC’s TV output from regulator Ofcom has classed comedy as

Books that take you abroad

With foreign holidays off the cards for some time to come, armchair travel has never been more tempting. Here are some of the best books to take you beyond your living room. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim Four women answer an advertisement in The Times, ‘To those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine. Small

Geoff Norcott

Do we really want lockdown to end?

Despite it being highly unfashionable to change your opinion, my lockdown stance has shown agility. For most of last year I was a ‘lockdown sceptic’. Not quite retweeting Piers Corbyn’s views on 5G, but equally not thrilled about spending every morning doing star jumps with Joe Wicks. I suspected lockdowns may ruin our children’s future