Sky High

When life tends to be a hit and myth affair

Why did thousands flock to see Ancient Egyptian and Chinese treasures?

Football clubs and fat cats should follow Aston Villa's lead

The club's Acorns initiative is a beacon that lights the way for all of us in dark times

Less homework? That's the right answer

The mental oppression of leaving school for the day, and then facing hours of slog, alienates many

Eden Lake: just a gory fantasy

Fear of being overrun by thugs has been with us for 200 years

The price of happiness? £365 a year I'd say

Virtually nobody in Britain actually needs new shoes

The death of the British pub

The middle classes and the middle-aged have abandoned pubs in droves

The anonymous heroes who really deserve a medal

The world is always full of dreadful news. That's constant. What changes is the degree to which we pay attention

The importance of being called Richard

Names go in and out of fashion, but changing them is no guarantee of miraculously casting off our former woes

What sort of person pays £995 for the Last Night of the Proms?

Air France and an apple

On an Air France flight last week I encountered a tiny object that seemed to epitomise the absurdity of modern life

The Edinburgh Festival refreshes the soul

The Festival reaffirms beliefs in 'things other than material', which is hard to do when materialism is society's driving force

If senior citizen Sir Mick Jagger can keep rocking - so can we

I think the baby-boomers may have been a historical blip

Ah yes, I remember it well... at least I think I do

Our memories define, inspire and comfort us - and trap us

Heritage at risk: there may be rubble ahead

There are still too many people who would rather see old buildings bulldozed

The British are the way they are because our climate is damp, dour and undemonstrative

If we consistently had summers like they have in Rio, we wouldn't just grow bananas, we'd go bananas

The British are the way they are because our climate is damp, dour and undemonstrative

If we consistently had summers like they have in Rio, we wouldn't just grow bananas, we'd go bananas

Guess what? There are exciting plans for Battersea power station - and pigs can fly

If so much as a single flat is built, I will personally hire a squadron of airborne porkers for a fly-past

Copenhagen's Tivoli gardens can teach us a lot about grace, tranquillity and tradition

The sight of Danes enjoying themselves in an amusement park filled me with envy

Why do we accept anodyne architecture in our public spaces?

You can learn a lot squatting in a sewage works, propped against Queen Victoria's ample bottom

The best sat-nav is the one inside your head

Has all this emphasis on cognitive thinking led to a withering of our instincts?