Brigitte Macron
Good companions
Brigitte Macron agitated to be granted the title of Première Dame, hoping to emulate not Yvonne de Gaulle but Jackie Kennedy
Boremageddon
Ricky Gervais’s tiresome adolescent offencemongering sent me to sleep
Hellenism in Rome
Children of Athens is an absorbing romp through Greek (and Roman) history
The bad old days
The “golden years” of publishing were characterised by booze, bullying and amateurishness
Ukraine’s cross-cultural contradictions
Has Ukraine overcome its legacy of historical antisemitism?
What became of Tchaikovsky?
Tchaikovsky: 5th symphony etc (ICA Classics)
Discomfort Zone
I recommend The Zone of Interest with the greatest caution: it’s not an easy watch
The paper tiger and the Russian bear
NATO’s naive and supine response will not drive Putin’s army from Ukraine and emboldens Moscow still further
Giants and pygmies
Some stop-gap leaders of the opposition were never intended to be potential prime ministers
Open season
I’m trying to stick to wild game, venison and native beef— and monogamy too