A tribute to Ismail Kadare, a writer who really deserved a Nobel Prize
Apart from Bob Dylan and Kazuo Ishiguro, it’s a fair bet that most people’s reaction to the Nobel prizewinners for…
What’s wrong with calling a female walker ‘sweetheart’?
So, another place where men have to mind their language: on mountains. In an article in Scottish Mountaineer magazine by one…
Scotland’s religious collapse
Last week, I had a drink with a Catholic priest friend who works with young people in custody. Inevitably, our…
Woman’s Hour has a diversity problem
On the bright side, Nuala McGovern isn’t Emma Barnett, she of the combative approach to broadcasting. The new presenter of Woman’s…
‘No mow May’ isn’t long enough
There’s one way of getting the look of the Chelsea Flower show winner, Ula Maria’s forest bathing garden, and that’s…
Why Gillian Keegan is right to scrap the free school cap
The other day a nice Albanian builder came round. He was in an upbeat mood because his son had been…
Why the public doesn’t support decriminalising abortion
Curious, isn’t it, how sentiment changes on a critical issue all of a sudden? Not so long ago, the prospect…
Irish voters have refused to erase the family
It’s not been a particularly good weekend for the political establishment in Ireland. Two constitutional changes have been rejected by…
Menopausal women shouldn’t be treated differently
Granted, I could be a beneficiary of the latest guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) about women…
How to get through Lent
Well, it’s a pig of a coincidence to have Ash Wednesday coinciding with Valentine’s Day. So, at the start of…
Canterbury Cathedral’s ‘rave in the nave’ is indefensible
It’s too late to get tickets for Canterbury Cathedral’s silent disco tonight – as with last night’s event, they sold…
Is Caroline Nokes really a Conservative?
Quite a number of people have been asking what Caroline Nokes MP is doing in the Conservative party after her…
Alabama’s nitrogen gas execution is indefensible
Let’s park for a moment the morality of the death penalty. You know what you think. It’s one of those…
Why are doctors being threatened for reporting late-term abortions?
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) this week threatened to use punitive measures against doctors who report late-term abortions…
Why the Children’s Word of the Year makes me feel sad
Along with the Oxford University Press Word of the Year – usually something you’d never say yourself – and the…
Just Say No to abstinence this January
Today’s a day for waltzes from Vienna and loafing around on one of the three days of the year when people…
A true Vienna experience includes the Sacher cake
What Victoria is to a jam sponge, so is Sacher to chocolate cake. It’s a man, a hotel and a…
Stella Creasy is wrong about the ‘motherhood penalty’
If you find yourself frazzled by the Christmas rush, spare a thought for Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, who is…
Do we really need more diversity on Gardener’s World?
Boo. Monty Don is retiring in a couple of years as presenter of Gardener’s World, because it’s getting to be…
Should Kyiv really ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church?
The war in Ukraine, which was until 7 October the only foreign news we could think about, is no longer centre…
The best of this year’s children’s books
Among many delights, the Greco-Persian wars are brought to thrilling new life and a truly bizarre Alaskan folk tale is retold
Why did this brilliant Irish artist fall off the radar?
Sir John Lavery has always had a place in Irish affections. His depiction of his wife, Hazel, as the mythical…
