An intelligent mix of culture, style, travel, food and property, as well as where to go and what to see.
Every weekend Spectator Life brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history. January 16 In 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became President of Liberia, and Africa’s first female elected head of state. The country got its name because it was founded in the 19th century as
So Sex and The City is returning under a new name, and there is a new Russell Davies drama about gay experience. When will television dare to address the experience of heterosexual men with even an ounce of sensitivity? My thoughts were prompted by the American drama A Teacher (currently on BBC iplayer), about
In an attempt to modernise, the National Trust has arranged for its staff and volunteers to be “reverse-mentored” by school children about the links between National Trust properties and slavery and colonialism. Pupils have been drafted in to uncover the “uncomfortable truths” of Britain’s shameful past and give lessons to the adults who preserve its
There’s nothing like the feeling of stumbling upon a book that you love. And that satisfaction is somehow multiplied tenfold if it’s a writer others are yet to discover. Lockdown is the perfect time to acquaint yourself with these underrated novels, some of which were celebrated during their own time but have largely been forgotten by today’s
One of the many reasons to love winter is that it brings so many wonderful new birds to this country. We might complain about our colder weather and the need to wrap up, but for many migratory birds, this country is a warm haven from their breeding grounds which are often within the Arctic Circle.
Elon Musk has a habit of sparking fires on Twitter. His latest suggestion to ‘Use Signal’ might have confused a few people – what is it, and why should I ‘use’ it? Signal is, in short, a messaging app for people who are concerned about privacy: once-upon-a-time a concern of small group of techies, but
Back in the golden age of Hollywood, American’s theatres provided a steady supply of would-be hits ripe for adaptation. These days, fewer plays make it to the silver screen but those that do usually prove their worth. Here are eight recent picks well worth watching: Una (2016), Amazon – to rent Blackbird, a jet-black thriller
Every week Spectator Life brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history … January 9 In 1806, Nelson’s funeral was held at St Paul’s. He is buried in the crypt, directly underneath the top of the cathedral’s dome. His coffin was made of wood taken
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a British actor in possession of a hit series and a face that hasn’t been thrashed by the ugly stick will, at some point, be mooted as the next Bond. So it’s surprising that it took Ladbrokes almost a fortnight after the period drama Bridgerton dropped on Netflix on
A certain stigma has attached itself to audiobooks. To the old school bibliophile, they are the literary equivalent of pre-chewed steak. The sceptics may have a point. After all, reading is tiring for the same reason that chewing is – work is being done. The brain is just a lump of clever fat, of course,
Now that we’re all stuck at home with our devices the temptation is to succumb to a vortex of internet clickbait in the vain hope that it will distract us until lockdown ends. But resist the allure of that cat video if you can and instead discover the rich seam of documentaries, lectures and long-form discussions with some of the
For cinema goers 2020 was understandably a year of thin gruel. The advent of Covid-19 meant that many films banking on a big cinema release were shunted to this year – the underwhelming box office performance of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet confirming the wisdom of this choice. Some movies were moved to limited cinema and simultaneous pay-per-view release, such as
‘All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.’ Enoch Powell, (Joseph Chamberlain, 1977) As President Donald J Trump witnesses the remaining days of his presidency ebb away, we take a look at the inevitable time
At the best of times, January is a depressing month. Everyone is feeling poor and bloated after the Christmas extravaganza, and the days are still short and cold, with the nights drawing in far too early. Nobody has ever said ‘I’m really looking forward to January’. Which is why, with the spectre of illness and
The electoral college has confirmed it: the US will have its 46th president on 21 January next year – Joseph R Biden Jnr. While Scranton Joe might not have much in common with his predecessor in many departments, there are (some) similarities when it comes to their personal lives. As grandfathers in their 70s, both
When I was 11, Iraqi scud missiles exploded next to our home, collapsing part of our roof while I huddled together with my younger siblings on my parents’ bed wearing gas masks. This was in 1991, during the Gulf War when Israel was under attacks for the better part of January and February. I lived
New Year’s Eve is bound to be less brash this year – some would ever say melancholic. Strangely many classic New Year movies tend to bend towards a sense of melancholy amid the celebrations, most memorably Billy Wilder’s classic comedy-drama The Apartment (1960). That film at least has a hopeful ending. Unlike say Sunset Boulevard
Looking for something new to watch on Amazon Prime this Christmas? Here’s our guide to the best shows and films arriving over the winter season: Tenet, 15 December (to rent or buy) Christopher Nolan’s time-bending venture – which revolves around the concept of bullets fired backwards in time – may have failed to reverse the
With the sad news of John le Carré’s (1931-2020) passing this weekend, a retrospective of some of the finest screen adaptations in the writer’s canon. For many aficionados of the genre, le Carré was the unrivalled king of the spy novel, who maintained a remarkably consistent output – his final novel (the satire Agent Running
An Apology An apology is a series of words strung together to absolve one of sins committed in private or in one’s professional life, usually uncovered by a newspaper, which allows one to carry on one’s duties as if nothing had happened, and very often to repeat the sins for which one has apologised. It
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The next president of the United States is, we are told, a devout Catholic who scrupulously attends Sunday Mass. This is in sharp contrast to the current president, who has never been more than an occasional churchgoer with, to put it politely, ill-defined religious views. So why are many Christians worried that a Joe Biden
One of the first films ever produced, 1903’s The Great Train Robbery, revolved around a robbery of a steam locomotive train, and ever since then the genre has continued to be one of the most enduring in cinema. It isn’t hard to see why. The core elements of the heist film are some of the
With the November shutdown and talk of Christmas restrictions, you could be forgiven for wanting a good dose of escapism right now. If that’s you, here’s our guide to the best films to watch when you’re feeling fed up and want a break from it all: North by Northwest (1959) Preserved by the United States
If this year you hear the distant rumble of dusty games’ compendia being brought down out of attics, it’s safe to say you can blame Netflix’s latest smash hit series The Queen’s Gambit, which seems to be convincing everyone that chess can be cool. App stores are reporting a surge of searches for a game
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is on this week. The gardens are impressive, but my favourite part of the show has always been the enormous tent in the middle of it all, in which flowers from all round the British Isles are displayed. Radiant pots of daffodils sit alongside obscene-looking collections of orchids – and
The end of March is nigh, and thanks to the EU’s latest pronouncements, a no-deal Brexit is still a very real possibility. The idea of No Deal causes most millennials to quake in their Balenciaga boots. But there’s nothing like a bit of positive thinking to get you through a crisis, right? Here are 7
As we are now well into the unwanted Lockdown sequel and winter approaches, time perhaps to enjoy an enforced home cinema experience with a selection of movie thrillers that you may have missed the first time round. Titles range from big budget star vehicles to smaller scale pictures that introduced us to some of the
With the dark evenings rolling in and the headlines sounding gloomier than ever, what better way to enter winter than by getting stuck into a good Scandi noir? Once the preserve of late nights on BBC Four, the genre has become a bankable success for streaming services – and a source of friendly(ish) competition between
When you hear the word ‘stockpiling’, the first thought that pops into your head is probably the image of forest-dwelling folk in remote reaches of the US, usually bearded, always armed, with hunting vests, baseball caps, a few tonnes of canned food buried beneath their shack and enough kerosene to defrost Svalbard. Yet with the
