That should not mean, however, that we forget the doubts. It is possible to conclude that on balance the negatives are outweighed by the positive virtues, while keeping criticisms of the Chinese regime in mind. Which is how it should be. Before the e...

A holiday in Britain, they think, this year. None of that faffing about with security lines at the airport, just a canter down to Devon, and a fortnight at that enchanting cottage by the cliffs. But when to go? August, probably. This is the month whe...

Just as significantly, from the perspective of the organisers, there were no political boycotts. The world's most powerful national leaders all dutifully turned up to either the opening or the closing ceremony. China will thus feel that it has achiev...

Like Walter Schiavi, for example, a Milanese postman. A few weeks back he called in sick – then showed up at the very post office where he works, cunningly disguised with a pair of shades and a baseball cap worn back to front. He held up the cashier ...

I've been conducting since I left university seven years ago, and though I have my own ensemble, the St George's Chamber Orchestra, and am preparing the BBC Symphony Chorus for their Proms performance next Sunday, I've had some odd reactions. After o...

The time when each of the two superpowers could mobilise half the world against the other is over. So is the brief decade when the West believed that history had come to an end, and that its views and values would enjoy a universal triumph. India, Ch...

They complain of excessive noise late at night and say that planning permission has not yet been granted. "Because we are on the Downs and it's very open, noise travels extremely easily," says one. "We do have very sensitive neighbours," says a spoke...