Charity
Kindness backfires: Sufferance, by Charles Palliser, reviewed
When the father of a family takes in a lost young girl from a minority ethnic group, he puts his own household at risk as racial persecution mounts
Donating to charity is too easy
It’s been a torrid few weeks for anyone who knows anyone who was running in the London Marathon. In have…
Are Stonewall and Mermaids charitable?
Iwas once asked by a colleague to sponsor him on an undertaking designed, he said, to raise money for a…
Real life
‘Do you care about the woodland? Do you care about the wildlife?’ shouted the bearded Woodland Trust volunteer from his…
The Manchester refugee charity representing the best of British
In October The Spectator will be heading to Manchester for Conservative party conference for the first time in two years,…
Lost cause
Being a good Samaritan is harder than it seems
For many of us charity begins in shops
When everything re-opened after the first lockdown, I didn’t immediately head to a restaurant, bar or hairdresser. I went to…
The original Edinburgh festival
James Sadler’s 1815 balloon flight, a Fringe first, heralded the greatest musical extravaganza that Scotland had ever seen, says John D. Halliday
Dear Mary: How can I politely turn down friends’ sponsorship requests?
Q. I want my guests to feel welcome when they stay with us and certainly don’t want to nag them.…
How many 999 calls are genuine emergencies?
To debate or not to debate Is Boris Johnson wise to shun TV debates? — Prior to the 2015 Labour…
Rory’s classic mistakes
If Rory Stewart had taken full advantage of his education at Eton and read classics at Oxford rather than PPE,…
Carmakers holding back investment in Britain is not just about Brexit
Technical issues Sir: Martin Vander Weyer’s supposition that car manufacturers are holding back investment due to Brexit seems to be…
Bank AGMs are an opportunity to shout about branch closures
The season of high-street banks’ annual general meetings is with us and I urge you to turn up and make…
Dear Mary: My new boyfriend is too short. Can I make him wear shoe lifts?
Q. An acquaintance, whom I admire but don’t know well, sent me a ‘begging’ letter to donate to a charity…
Let’s face it: the Presidents Club was on to something
There exist in the annals of salesmanship certain ideas that are both highly immoral and wickedly clever. Before P. T.…
London Notebook
The new government seems to be struggling with the logistical intricacies of removing Britain from the European Union. I can…
Another banking review is pointless: just carry on naming, shaming and jailing
Was the Financial Conduct Authority leaned on by the Chancellor to scrap its ‘review of banking culture’? Or did it…
How to spot a charity snake
Five questions that no one dared to ask Kids Company
High life
This is going to be one hell of a year, hell being the operative word. It will be the year…
Letters
Just call them Daesh Sir: I was interested to read Sam Leith’s article in which he appears to argue that…
Christianity is silent on my great moral dilemma
Proximity shouldn’t make a difference — should it? We were on a beach on the European side of the Mediterranean,…
Just giving
Seven years ago I wrote here about a site called Kiva.org. I had met the co-founder of this charity when…
The Spectator’s notes
People write about ‘Grexit’ and ‘Brexit’ as if they were the same, but they need not be. Grexit is about…
Diary
For the first time since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team six years ago, a Test match side…
The people from the sea
Encounters with those who have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean
