Table Talk
Into the festive spirit
Christopher Pincher enjoys a 2009 Margaux in a dining room steeped in historical scandal
How to beat the killjoys
A pared-back Christmas means we can at last bin the big bird, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto
Pleasures of the plague year
Lisa Hilton welcomes the locals back to Venice and enjoys a spicy nod to the city’s vibrant past
The pardoner’s tale
Christopher North on a sentimental fad that risks cheapening the ritual of the bullring
It takes all sorts
Patrick Galbraith on rural racism and the fear of outsiders
Glorious mud
Nick Cohen is badly bitten by the cross-country bug
Acts of faith
Hephzibah Anderson plants her spring bulbs
Cut and thrust
Hannah Betts admires a pair of quality-obsessed British labels
Silence of the fans
Nick Cohen says silent sport needs crowds to give it meaning
Little cup of perfection
Lisa Hilton praises a divine lunch in Santiago de Compostela
Most Read
The martyrdom of Young Bob
On ebbing power of the political influencer
Grooming gangs and the truth
We should not give ammunition to deniers of the grooming gangs scandal
Babies need women
Leaving children with only men who are not their parents is foolish and dangerous
Stop ignoring the Islamisation of our democracy
The British state is bending to Islamism, not attempting to defeat it
Losing control of the narrative
The British establishment no longer sets the terms of public debate over migration
Not so good after all
Can left-leaning journalists finally acknowledge the challenges British society faces?
How religion shapes football fandom
The meaning of football is intertwined with the meaning of faith
It’s not a level pitch
Where did it all go wrong for Crystal Palace?
Soft-Play Britain
Britain’s governing class talks of growth and grandeur but focuses on planters and paint schemes
English football is not boring
Greater competition is being confused with dullness
The problem with price freezes
Freezing prices is not half as simple (or cheap) as politicians often think
The centre-left is out of ideas
The new journal Arguably barely makes an argument
Critical briefing: local elections
Our political editor explains what to look out for in Thursday’s elections
Who will pound longest?
America has military might — but does it have the appetite for war?
The Book of JO’B
James O’Brien’s aggressive incuriosity is becoming ever more embattled as his worldview crumbles
A magnificent navy on land
The state of the British Armed Forces triumphantly vindicates Parkinson’s Law