Airfix releases Spitfire Kit celebrating the wartime beer runs of 1944. After the Normandy landings in June 1944, those who had survived, facing further hardship against fierce resistance from German forces, still had time to wonder where their next pint would come from. They had to wait until July for assistance. Spitfire aircraft carried expendable… … Keep Reading
Twin brothers plan to ascend a peak in Nepal to compare a replica of the gear worn by George Mallory in 1924 against modern climbing kit. Photos by Luke Jarmey In October, the Turner Twins will ascend Nepal’s Mera Peak (21,217ft) in a unique experiment – pitting modern-day mountaineering kit against the natural fibre outfits… … Keep Reading
The second saunter sans purpose of 2025 will see the dandies of London face more bracing weather conditions than usual. The Chap’s Grand Flaneur Walk has taken place every Summer since 2019, only interrupted by the global unpleasantness in 2020. Thus far, among five saunters sans purpose, only one has been marred by inclement weather,… … Keep Reading
An encounter with the sixties icon in 2014, republished following the sad passing of Terence Stamp on 17th August 2025. Photos by Peter Clark. “Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station, every Friday night.” Apparently you are Terry, from Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks, and Julie is Julie Christie? There are two stories, and either way Ray… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple takes a liquid journey around the world to see whether single malt whisky can be trusted from anywhere except Scotland. To some readers (and they may be right) is is already blasphemous even to suggest that whisky can come from anywhere except Scotland. But when one discovers that whisky is also made in… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple assesses a new Irish Whiskey with rather ghoulish credentials. The word ‘sexton’ derives from the Mediaeval Latin word sacristanus – ‘custodian of sacred objects’. A sexton is ‘a person who looks after a church and churchyard, typically acting as bell-ringer and gravedigger’. The gravedigger in Hamlet calls himself a sexton, for example. The typical… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple nosedives into rums that don’t come from where they used to come from, because they are either made or refined right here on these craggy shores. Over the last decade or so, rum has been slowly shaking off its old reputation as something to swill in discotheques mixed with Coca-Cola. But only recently… … Keep Reading
The English cricket bat industry is under threat following a European directive which prevents willow being exported outside Europe. Introduced in March this year, the EU law prohibits the use of the insecticide Methyl Bromide, with which the willow is treated before being exported to be turned into cricket bats. However, the wood cannot leave…
A one-armed man walked into a jewellery shop in Essex and distracted staff while he made off with a single cufflink. The thief pretended to be looking for a present for his mother, when he knocked boxes of cufflinks on the floor and ran off with one in the shape of a boxing glove. The…
The British actor who could be said to have embodied the ethos of Chappishness has died aged 89. Ian Carmichael always played the upper class twit, offering a bumbling but well-meaning conterpoint to the cads and bounders who shared the screen with him. One of his best-known roles was as Bertie Wooster in the 1960s…
Modern youngsters are eschewing the handshake as the customary greeting and parting gesture. They are replacing it with a casual wave, a hug or by touching fists – in a nod to the tradition held by the rap musicians they listen to. The custom of shaking hands dates back to medieval times, when it was…