This year the legendary Chap Olympiad, instead of taking place in London, moves to a country location. At 1pm on Saturday 10th August, the Tournament of Tomfoolery will occur at Firle Vintage Fair in East Sussex. This year’s repertoire includes classic favourites Umbrella Jousting, Cucumber Sandwich Discus, Tug of Hair and Tea Pursuit, as well… … Keep Reading
Panzer Tanks look much more authentic in rivers of mud. The weather had turned dramatically in late July, from the hottest day on record to weather that felt more like 1942 by the fifth and last day of the War and Peace Revival. Visitors to the Hop Farm, Kent were greeted by rivers of mud… … Keep Reading
On Sunday 14th July, a group of flâneurs assembled before the statue of Beau Brummell on Jermyn Street, London at midday. At precisely the same hour, another group of German flâneurs assembled in Dusseldorf, while yet another group in Los Angeles prepared to set off when the London walk reached its destination. This proved impossible,… … Keep Reading
On 17th May 2019 The Chap publishes its 100th edition. This landmark special anniversary issue features all-time Chap icon Terry-Thomas on the front cover, with an in-depth look at the actor and bounder’s life and career, with some never-seen family photographs kindly provided by T-T’s niece. Our main interview is with another bounder/actor Leslie Phillips,… … Keep Reading
To mark publication of our 100th edition in May 2019, and celebrate 20 years of The Chap, we are giving readers three opportunities to mark these two milestones, occurring throughout the summer and autumn of 2019. 14th JULY: THE GRAND FLANEUR WALK A mass stroll in London on Sunday 14th July to celebrate the art… … Keep Reading
This year The Chap celebrates 20 years of publication, with the 100th edition published on 17th May 2019. To mark this pair of highly significant milestones, we are hosting a spectacular party on Saturday 8th June in London. Long-established WWII-themed shindig The Blitz Party, hosted by Chap Olympiad partners Bourne & Hollingsworth, will provide an… … Keep Reading
As Olly Smith so eloquently puts it in his drinks column, “As the Lowlands lead to the Highlands, so the first hundred Chaps will surely lead to the second hundred.” This, our 99th edition, does not skimp on the usual packed measure of quality, variety and scope, beginning with an interview with Hollywood actor Billy… … Keep Reading
On this day in 1990, Terry-Thomas died at Busbridge Hall Nursing Home in Godalming, Surrey. Something of a Chap icon, in fact more of a spiritual godhead, Terry-Thomas personified the upper-class Englishman with a strong caddish streak. He was born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens in 1911, changing his stage name to Terry-Thomas in the 1930s,… … Keep Reading
Autobiographies often mark a turning point in the author’s life; the end of their creative output and time to reflect on a career; the opportunity to put scurrilous rumours to rest with the truth; the need to cash in on the dwindling fame of a reality TV show. The purpose of an autobiography to mark… … Keep Reading
The Chap Winter 18 is available directly from here and in digital form from issuu.com Crammed to the gunwales with a broad variety of content, our main interview is with dandy actor and fashion designer John Malkovich. We also meet other remarkable men, including Nicholas Parsons, Craig Brown and a man who crossed the Alps… … Keep Reading
In the tribal district of Khyber on the Pakistan/Afghan border, moustaches are frowned upon. This is putting it mildly. Lashkar-e-Islam, a militant group allied with the Taliban, regularly terrify bewhiskered men with threat of kidnapping or even death if they persist in cultivating a large lip weasel. Taliban rules on beards are very clear: a… … Keep Reading
The actress Fenella Fielding, who has died aged 90 from a stroke, was one of our most difficult interviewees to track down. After countless attempts to reach her via her agent in 2008, it was several years later that I saw her on a street in Soho, stopping traffic in a black and white ensemble,… … Keep Reading