Interview: Clive James on Dante, Brexit and Trump
In a rare interview for issue 64 of Spear’s, the late polymath Clive James talked about his latest epic poem,…
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Art & Culture
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Art & Culture
What new BBC show Gold Digger can tell us about Pre-Nups
‘She needs a trusted advisor who will cut through the noise and tell her to be a realist’, writes Marjha…
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Jason Cowley on what Qatar can learn from Japan’s World Cup success
Jason Cowley on what Japan knows about hosting a major sporting event – and what Qatar needs to learn Contrast…
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‘There is a feeling of being completely out of one’s depth’ – Spear’s meets Colin Davidson, portraitist to the stars
Whether he’s painting the Queen or locals in Belfast, Colin Davidson brings a unique twist to his portraits. Emelia Hamilton-Russell…
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PPFM: What to see, read, buy and do in November
Pinch Punch First of the Month: From cinema to books, art and eating out, this is the Spear’s guide to…
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Stars align for the Mayfair Literary Festival
Claridges, the Connaught and the London Library, are among the venues celebrating Mayfair’s cultural history this Autumn, writes Hugo Inkson…
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UK art exports jump amid ‘weak sterling’
New research from Boodle Hatfield has found that the UK’s art exports are surging as Brexit comes to bear, writes…
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Clive Aslet: What Modern architects have in common with Classicists
The best Modern architects seem to share the same values of human scale and local distinctiveness as the Classicists, writes…
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Coining it: Nick Foulkes on a true collectors item
It’s difficult to imagine generations in a distant future getting quite so excited about 2,500-year-old bitcoin or contactless payment –…
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William Cash on betting and Boris’s ‘winning’ charisma
Don’t fancy sitting in traffic for hours on race day? Simply enjoy it all from a private room of a…
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PPFM: What to see, visit, read, buy and do in October
Pinch, Punch, First of the Month: Five things to see, splurge on, read and do over the next 30 days.…
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Amanda Palmer on crowdfunding art: ‘It’s really fucking powerful’
When it comes to monetising her work, performance artist Amanda Palmer is as explicit as her creations. Here she explains…
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Affordable art fair founder Will Ramsay on accessibility and advice for new collectors
The Affordable Art Fair turns 20 this year and now spans ten countries and 185,000 annual visitors. Arun Kakar talks…
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London’s all new ‘crime’ festival opens this week
Some of the UK’s top writers are descending on central London this week at the inaugural Capital Crime festival, the…
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‘My mind hadn’t needed to go for a hike, or even a wander’ – Alessandro Tome on his first gay wedding
Alessandro Tome heads to Ibiza for his first gay wedding and finds that it was as perfect as it was…
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Jason Cowley on the ‘iron cage’ of sports fandom
Whatever the sport, being a fan is a serious commitment – even if the joyful moments are elusive, writes Jason…
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Autumn reads: Four of the best books out now
Spear’s writers presents four books that are worth picking up this autumn The Meritocracy Trap By Daniel Markovits (Allen Lane,…
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Commodore David Russell revisits the Kursk tragedy: ‘They worried that we might be there to gather secrets…’
Spear’s meets David Russell, the Royal Navy submariner in charge of the British response to the Kursk submarine disaster. He…
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In the Closet of the Vatican book review: ‘a blistering critique’ of organised religion
Rasika Sittamparam reviews Frederic Martel’s giddying tale of power, homosexuality and lies in the closet of the Catholic Church This…
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Rana Dasgupta Q&A: How Britain’s JCB launched the ‘Booker Prize for India’
Arun Kakar talks to the novelist Rana Dasgupta on how he worked with the British multinational to set up the…
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