Jonathan Foreman

Many Britons – and even some Americans – have a false idea of what the US is really like. Are Hollywood and TV to blame?

Britons’ behaviour on the London Underground escalators shows the country has not yet lost all its charm and civility

‘New York feels much calmer than London about the financial crisis. It’s not clear if this attitude is a product of resignation or sheer denial, schadenfreude against wealthy financiers, or perhaps a kind of emotional hardiness born of the 9/11 attacks.’

This month’s small charity making a big difference is the Hindu Kush Conservation Association

Germaine Greer has got it wrong: everyone should see The Female of the Species

The Patisserie Wars are expanding at least as rapidly as the nation’s waistbands

Away from the tourist trail, India is threatened by the Maoism that toppled Nepal’s monarchy

British newspaper writing is famously more vigorous and readable than its American equivalent. But this comes at a price: there’s a good chance that anything you read in a British newspaper isn’t true.