This narrow obsession with Covid has starved our lives of meaning
An English vicar went viral this past week. A phrase you don’t have the pleasure of reading every day. The cause was a snippet of a video…
Blackburn Sings Christmas with Gareth Malone, review: a sumptuous feast of spirit and sentimentality
However adventurous we may be in the kitchen, many of us return to the old certainties of Delia, Mary and co when it comes to Christmas food….
Ghosts Christmas special, review: bursting with seasonal charm, goodwill and mischief
A series more or less purpose-built for the Christmas special, Ghosts (BBC One) has warmth, silliness and no fewer than nine spooks, where Charles Dickens only had…
Jon Snow’s grand farewell, or: how to make Sturgeon and Rees-Mogg agree
Jon Snow has never been shy about wearing his emotions on his sleeve during his decades-spanning career as a reporter and news anchor. And he looked variously…
Ministers choose top banker with ‘an outsider’s eye’ to run NHS England
A pressing priority for the new chairman of NHS England, who is offered pay of £63,000 a year for three days work a week, will be to…
Thursday evening UK news briefing: Analysing Professor Lockdown’s omicron claims
It comes as Mark Drakeford has been accused of lying to the public by a former health statistics boss after he said omicron was “probably” just as…
Nicola Sturgeon urged to ease ‘too cautious’ self-isolation Covid rules after omicron shown to be milder
In a second major cross-Border split, the UK Government said the self-isolation period for positive cases in England was being cut from 10 to seven days if…
Boris Johnson bypassing the media with private vanity photographers, David Cameron suggests
The Government employs three dedicated photographers to take pictures of ministers on official visits, including Andrew Parsons, a former press photographer who now works in Downing Street…
New Year’s Eve likely to escape new Covid curbs
New Year’s Eve restrictions are increasingly unlikely, Government sources have said – after an official report confirmed omicron is likely to be a far milder variant of…
Hopes that EU ‘hangover’ will be cured with pints of sparkling wine
A Government source told The Telegraph on Thursday night: “Pint-sized bottles were a victim of the EU’s war against imperial measurements, which are widely used and understood…
Handforth parishioners go to the polls to replace councillor who berated Jackie Weaver
Ms Nisa, who stood for the Labour Party, pledged to use her skills as a lawyer to scrutinise planning applications. Mr Cooke is listed on the election…
Mark Drakeford accused of lying over claim omicron is ‘probably’ as severe as delta
Research by the University of Edinburgh, presented to ministers, has concluded that the symptoms of omicron are likely to be far milder than delta, while booster vaccines…
Latest Covid omicron data offers cause for growing hope amid the uncertainty
Dr Jim McMenamin, the national Covid-19 incident director for Public Health Scotland, labelled the findings a “qualified good news story”, but warned that it was “important we…
Questor: sell this trust, we said in 2019. Now almost 25pc cheaper, it’s worth owning again
He said this revision to the trust’s strategy should support its objective of providing investors with an attractive level of income and the potential for capital and…
Where house prices jumped by 20pc this year
This year also saw the traditional price divide between the north and south narrow, with nine of the top 20 performing towns for price growth located in…
Estranged couples rush to remortgage ahead of ‘no-fault’ divorce change
Relationship breakdowns hit a seven-year high this year, placing even more pressure on courts which were close to capacity before the pandemic hit. Amanda McAlister, of McAlister…
‘We used to queue for food in Soviet Russia – now we own a Mayfair restaurant empire’
They have not been deterred by coronavirus nor its ruinous effect on the hospitality industry. Last December they opened Hideaway, a cafe with a Hedonism wine list…
Toy story: how James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 and Corgi caused a sensation at Christmas 1965
A helping hand surely came from the films, which had “broken out” with Goldfinger the previous year. Number 261 became the fastest-selling toy car in history, registering…
Superyachts, police escorts and private beaches: How the mega-rich do Covid-secure Christmas
One thing the very rich avoid at all costs is Christmas in Britain. The most magical time of year is miserable when not spent aboard a superyacht…
Dementia, Dad and me: Seven ways we get through Christmas
Christmas is all about memories, and making them. But what happens if memory dims like fading winter light? It’s a topic that my family and I are…
Drugs, steak and tears: the brutal truth of working in a restaurant
“I think if we made it now, we’d have included more about the staffing issue,” he admits. “It would have been even more stressful, even more intense…
The NHS must finally close its healthcare gender gap
If you’ve already mentally clocked off for the festive break, you’d be forgiven for missing the latest publication from the Department of Health and Social Care –…
Unpicking the mystery behind the ‘yarnbombing’ craze
Under the cover of darkness on November 30, six teams were dispatched to the streets of St Albans in Hertfordshire. They skulked around corners, determined to stay…
The dos and don’ts of Christmas tipping
Christmas is all about dilemmas. Stick with turkey or go rogue with a goose, joint of beef or massive curry? Presents before lunch, so the children shut…
Rachel Riley deserves every bit of compensation for the hard-Left abuse she’s endured
The court case between Countdown presenter Rachel Riley and Labour’s Laura Murray told us so much about the crisis of antisemitism that poisoned the party under Jeremy…