Modern Life
Something Rotten
‘Occasionally one reads of an incident in this great metropolis so awful, so disturbing, that just for a moment one’s mental moorings are shaken’
What’s In A Boy’s Name?
‘Even high-profile women who assume their husband’s name on marriage, like the human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, are loudly criticised’
Unethical Tourism
‘It seems a little early for me to give my trust and travellers cheques to Iran, merely on the promise that the new leader smiles more than the last’
Political Correctness Is Devouring Itself
The sooner the Left realises that you cannot censor your way to a better society the sooner it can worry about more important issues
Death By Clickbait
Online news’ thirst for traffic has sidelined polemics and transformed journalists into thieves and liars
Bolstering Britishness
The monarchy, and its central function as a symbolic unifying force, have been given a new lease of life by citizenship ceremonies
We Can Fix The Economy But Not Human Nature
In the Church of England’s new book the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are too focused on inequality rather than poverty, greed and folly
The New Language Of Political Narcissism
Orwell criticised writing on politics, but he could not have imagined the solipsism of today’s self-regarding pundits and politicians
Why Is ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ the New Normal?
A psychologist and sex therapist wonders where E.L. James’s celebration of sadomasochism comes from and what it means for human relationships
Easy Rider
‘Since my return from Bali, I have experimented with an accommodative tranquillity on a bicycle that makes my journey not only more pleasant but probably safer’
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal