A little etymology, a little drink, a little bit of self-aggrandisement. The names of wine are always a little magical and mysterious, an...

Plonk , as in "a bottle of plonk", as in "the cheapest wine on the menu", was, originally, a bottle of plinketty-plonk ...

A new Age of Miracles is upon us. For those not familiar with the works of Spengler, he had an idea that civilizations work in cycles. You ...

It's surprising the number of people who ask me what myrrh is. It's partly to do with having written a book on Christmas, and partl...

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting distinctly plump, and I've written a piece for the Spectator on the origins of Santa Claus a...

Those who are obsessed with current affairs may have noticed that we had a referendum in June; incurable political junkies probably even kn...

My new book, A Christmas Cornucopia , is out today. Run to the bookshop, run! It is about the origins of our Christmas traditions: why we...