The best wines, sherries and ports to pair with a Christmas cheeseboard
Christmas grants us so many opportunities to showcase the finest food and drink, and one of my favourite moments is putting together a festive cheeseboard and cracking…
This £13.99 champagne is a Christmas bestseller – so what is its secret?
So to some of us, at least, it is no surprise that Veuve Monsigny NV has just been declared the second best-selling champagne in the UK, only…
Gyms can no longer bear the weight of the Government’s bad decisions
Recent work from home restrictions have been yet another crushing blow to the fitness industry, especially the city centre-focused boutique studio sector. After a year of low…
My terrible Christmas break-up taught me the power of spending the festive season alone
It’s the most wonderful time, yes the most wonderful time… Oh. This Christmas has been anything but wonderful. Covid-induced anxiety, cancelled social plans, the fear of catching…
Covid has ruined Christmas, but not in the way that you think
The pressure mounts as we inch towards the Big Day. It’s worse this year than it was last, and then it was pretty bad. But Christmas Day…
This is what nobody tells you before you come off antidepressants
So how did I ever get into this mess? I was prescribed paroxetine (branded Seroxat in the UK, Paxil in the US) aged 33, when my first…
The best places to eat and drink in Clitheroe and the Ribble Valley
Steven Smith, the chef-owner of Freemasons at Wiswell, a pub with rooms near Clitheroe in rural Lancashire, was born and bred in the North West. After training…
Your complete guide to lateral flow tests – and whether they might save your Christmas
For the past few months, our lives have been ruled by a swab up the nose. Comparisons to a pregnancy test (which the lateral flow resembles) are…
For the first time ever, I don’t want Christmas to come
I am standing in front of the rows of Christmas cards with a feeling of rising panic. I’m willing myself to select one as I inwardly list…
We are heading for a face off between real world data and Sage modelling
How the left loves trying to establish the narrative that we have a Government of charlatans pitched against the collected wisdom of scientists. Yet the real schism lies…
Harry Miller has taught the thought police a lesson. But there’s still a long way to go
In January 2019 a woman – who can be identified only as “B” – contacted Humberside Police. “ I would like to report an individual by the…
Sturgeon and Drakeford are drunk on power
When consoling one of his pupils faced by some disheartening vicissitude, my tutor would often quote Dr Johnson: “Consider one year hence what a small moment this…
The omicron shutdown is a serious threat to our waistlines
One of the adverse consequences of the pandemic has been a modest but harmful rise in weight levels, more marked in some groups, and in part brought…
Michael Deacon’s quiz of the year: 10 questions about 2021
In January, Boris Johnson promised the nation that Britain had “quite a phenomenal year” ahead of it. Well, he certainly got that right. In fact, 2021 has…
Which of the Tories will speak for liberty?
Believe it or not, there was a time when Boris Johnson’s evocation of classical liberal beliefs, that the rights of the individual should trump the power-thirsty nature…
A new case for Christianity is rising from New Atheism’s ashes
‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbles Jo at the beginning of Little Women. But 2020 proved her wrong. Thanks to Jeff Bezos and his merry…
‘The NHS is not beyond reproach’: Sherelle Jacobs responds to readers on omicron restrictions
In my column this week, I argued that a conspiracy of silence has trapped Britain in a permanent state of Covid fear, with scientific intolerance and problematic…
WhatsApp has made politics classless
It’s hard to believe that the exclusion of a cabinet minister from an MPs’ WhatsApp group occupied the attention of many people over the weekend. But this…
How to make the most of small spaces in your home in 2021, with interior design tips from experts
A small living room needn’t stop you from having plenty of seating, as this one by interior designer Sarah Peake demonstrates. The choice of furniture is particularly…
How Prince William should update his style in 2022
Where Prince Charles will wear a handsome Prince of Wales checked suit with the full roster of gleaming accessories – a glossy tie, pocket square, cufflinks and…
Where the super rich will be buying property in 2022
For a more frontal view of the palace, there’s Admiralty Arch, overlooking The Mall – commissioned by King Edward VII as a gift to his mother, Queen…
From mermaid waves to a glamorous up-do – why the Duchess of Cambridge is this year’s ‘hairspo’
To be fair the Duchess has been serving us perennially groomed hairstyles since her wedding day to William, The Duke of Cambridge, for which she wore her…
What is it about Parisian style that keeps us coming back for more?
Except that I like Parisian taste even though it can seem a wee bit underwhelming initially. Back in 1945 when she first arrived in Paris, Nancy Mitford…
The 10 items every self-respecting Parisienne has in her wardrobe
Two years at home has made most of us fall in love with the French uniform all over again. You know the look: slim-cut trousers; a dislike…
Women over 50 ditched the work suit long ago, but Hobbs failed to keep up
Coat, £199, Hobbs Twenty years ago, Hobbs was one of the more successful brands on the British high street. As youthful Topshop and Zara began to dominate…