London
Here we go again: bankers taking liberties in pools full of sharks
It was at the Mansion House dinner last year that a City gent two seats away announced himself to be…
I may not know much about khat, but I know banning it is crazy
Khat is a leafy stimulant chewed mainly, I gather, by Somalis. This week the government banned its possession and sale.…
Dinner with the paparazzi
Here then is Gatsby’s house, after an invasion by the Daily Mail. It is called the Chiltern Firehouse. It is…
Long life
Although I live in the country in Northamptonshire, I go to London often — almost once a week — and…
Labour has proved that it speaks for London – and nowhere else
So, now almost all the votes have been counted — except for those in the Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets, where…
Why picking holes in Piketty might help stop Miliband’s mansion tax
The postman at the door is stooped by his burden like an allegorical statue of Labour Oppressed by Capital. His…
End of the rude
Wong Kei is a mad Chinese restaurant on Wardour Street, Chinatown. Until recently it was considered the rudest restaurant in…
Marylebone
‘Take a trip to Marylebone station,’ chanted my husband. ‘Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.’ I had been…
Watching the clock
Whatever worries Kiefer Sutherland may have had about reprising the role of Jack Bauer in 24: Live Another Day (Sky1,…
Why I’m a kamikaze cyclist
The only way to survive as a London cyclist is to behave like a complete nutter
Rise of the mayors
The power to effect real change may lie with dynamic city halls rather than ossified national governments
A far cry from Chelsea
London House is in Battersea, which some people call South Chelsea, but is more East Wandsworth to my mind; or…
The Spectator’s notes
Everyone can see that the West has no idea what to do about Russian power in the Ukraine. Britain, in…
Lessons in freedom
How politicians wreck education
Dinner with the editors
Moro (‘moorish’ or ‘sexist’) is a Spanish restaurant on Exmouth Market, near the bones of the old Guardian and Observer…
McBess
My husband was surprised by quite a bit when we travelled by Underground in London the other day. Although he…
An elephant in our midst
On 15 September 1885, the world’s most famous elephant, Jumbo, was killed by a train. Jumbo, the star attraction at…
London for aliens
Lanes of London serves street food to people who hate streets; that is, it exists to soothe the still-curious mouths…
Why I’m on board for the homophobic bus
London has long since lost its allure for me — altogether too many cars, foreigners, cyclists, middle-class liberals and people…
Stop that cab!
It’s time to end the archaic privileges of London taxi drivers
Dear Mary
Q. I have a problem with what might be called location blindness. I live in Balham, but when I arrange…
If you love gold, shouldn’t you love the euro too?
Bitcoins have been in the news, after a story about an unfortunate fellow who jettisoned his computer’s hard drive that…
Artist’s Notebook
We live by simple stories. X has a stroke. X recovers; or doesn’t. But we live inside more complicated stories.…
Criminal damage
Anyone with a passing interest in old British buildings must get angry at the horrors inflicted on our town centres…
An old wound takes its toll at last
This is probably the most self-indulgent column I’ve written. I hope not to make a habit of it. It’s an…
