An intelligent mix of culture, style, travel, food and property, as well as where to go and what to see.
Definition: A person who questions the beliefs of others Lord Sumption, is a sceptic. The former Supreme Court judge has questioned the government’s lockdown policies and raised uncomfortable questions: ‘are we punishing too many for the greater good?’; ‘is the life of my grandchildren worth more than my own, because they have much more of
Every weekend Spectator Life brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history. 23 January In 1571, the Royal Exchange opened in London. The building (or rather its Victorian replacement) still bears a golden grasshopper, the emblem of the Exchange’s founder Thomas Gresham. He chose this to
It doesn’t seem like a bad time to be Matt Haig. He’s written multiple bestselling books, including the reputation-making memoir Reasons to Stay Alive about his own experience of severe depression. His latest, The Midnight Library, is proving impossible for everyone but Richard Osman and JK Rowling to knock out of the bestseller charts. There’s
I often find myself turning to lemon-filled recipes in January. I think it’s something my baking subconscious realises before I do – that cold, dark days require the antithesis, something bright and bold, something cheering. You know what they say: when life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie. Unlike its austere, pared back French
President-Elect Joe Biden is due to formally occupy The White House after his inauguration on 20 January 2021. For those who take an interest in such things, The White House was not formally called such until 1901, when President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the building its name. Previously it had been informally known by the
The Burns Supper is not so much a dinner as it is a celebration of Scotland’s great contributions to poetry, distilling, and sausage making. Even though this year’s celebrations are set to be smaller scale than usual, the 25th of January still represents an opportunity to defy the winter gloom and raise a few glasses
The pandemic has hit the film industry for six – but there’s a precedent to suggest that it can come back stronger. Because that’s what Hollywood did after the devastation of the Spanish Flu a century ago. As that killer virus was still ravaging post-WWI America, a great auteur was at work on a project
With admirable and determined positivity, James Corden and the Late, Late Show released a Les Mis-themed video last night, bidding a fond adieu to the Trump era. It was a coup — if you’ll forgive the word — de théatre. Corden and his team are well-versed in the well-oiled machinery of the viral video. And
Cinema came of age in the 20th century and documented that epoch in all its trials and tribulations. Movies are for the most part escapist confections but they can also reflect our world back to us. To learn about the major events of the last century, it is sometimes as useful to turn to a
Football is an emotional sport, as anyone who has ever had the misfortune of being in Glasgow on derby day will attest. When your team wins, or even just scores a goal, that emotion can be hard to contain. Players, on occasion, have been known to celebrate such occurrences; sometimes they even make physical contact
There will be many great new novels published this year, but, sadly, even in lockdown, not enough time to read them all. Here are just a few that might be worth adding to the reading pile: Mother for Dinner by Shalom Auslander This is the novel I’m most looking forward to this year. Shalom Auslander’s Hope: A
Nearly three months since the US election, Kamala Harris will soon make history as the first woman to be sworn in as Vice-President. As the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris has made much of her historic background. And not always without controversy – the recent ‘fweedom’ gaffe being a case in point. So
There is something highly amusing about the thought of a politician on Instagram. It’s like letting a University Challenge panelist loose in Victoria’s Secret. How will they know what to do amid this world of pink, sexed-up, candy floss? They might have mastered other platforms (Twitter, for example), with their fierce duels over facts. But Instagram doesn’t
After the publication of Sarah Smarsh’s She Come By It Natural, the latest biography of the beloved songstress, here’s a look at Dolly Parton’s career in the movies. Admittedly, Parton’s filmography can be described as patchy (at best), but there are enough hits, curiosities, and why-on-earth-did-she-do-it? duds to merit a retrospective. And who knows – some
Once mainly associated with portly, middle-aged men of a certain social standing, cigars – along with single malt whisky, fine wine, decent watches and interesting cars – have become part of the arsenal of interests that anyone who aspires to be a 21st century gentleman is almost required to hold dear. But the current enthusiasm
If nothing else, the nation’s latest online book club will be its poshest. The Duchess of Cornwall has thrown her feathered fascinator into the ring with Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Richard and Judy to found — as she announced on her Instagram feed — an online book club called The Reading Room, in which
With Russia back in the news yet again, it’s interesting to note how comparatively few English language movies are set in the country. Admittedly in TV there’s been an uptick lately, with two recent series on Catherine The Great in youth/middle age, the Andrew Davies version of War & Peace, McMafia and the multi award-winning
Since freedom is in short supply right now, there’s much to be said for spending a nostalgic evening recalling the thrill of cutting loose and doing whatever you damn well please. So here are seven classic movies that take freedom to the extreme: Into the Wild (2007, Amazon Prime) Every so often, I like to picture myself in
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
Beef Stroganoff has had its heyday: terribly popular with both restaurant chefs and dinner party hostesses of the 1950’s to 70’s, I can’t remember the last time I saw it on a menu or dinner table. It’s been relegated to buffet dishes and ready meals, beige and bland, insipid and gloopy. It sits in canteen
Given recent events on the inauguration scaffolding, Jill Biden may do well to wear a bullet-proof vest to watch her husband become the 46th President of the United States and be done with it. But Inauguration Day calls for some serious sartorial politicking and it seems unlikely Dr B will want to miss out. Long
You would be forgiven for not wanting to go full veganuary in early 2021 despite what all those healthy eating gurus suggest. A period of gentle moderation is far more realistic, especially in lockdown. Fortunately there’s an array of healthy delivery options to help you on your way, none of which compromise on taste. Gone are the
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.
A pattern seems to have emerged in the latter stages of the Covid crisis: Keir Starmer gets wind of discussions within government of possible new lockdown restrictions and calls for them to be implemented immediately – just to make it look as if he is ahead of the curve and the government behind it. We
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