The Independent | Commentators

Tom Hodgkinson: 'After two years of neglect, I've remembered how therapeutic gardening can be'

May is the most magical month. It certainly feels that way down here on the farm in Devon, the em.....

Tim Key: 'We couldn't call mountain rescue or justifiably perish, so we pressed on'

I went to Wales the other day and while I was there I went for a longish walk and that's what my .....

Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Don't call a spade a spade – just dig a deeper hole

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a great-crested grebe. That's how it seems .....

Public anger over pollution in China is finally being taken seriously

Pollution and its health effects are a leading cause of unrest in China as the country’s rapid ec.....

Donald Macintyre's Sketch: International laughing stock, Prime Minister? Don’t worry – just blame it all on the rebels

John Baron can seem like a Mafia operative offering you the sort of protection that it would be unwise to refuse

Old Tory scepticism has won, yet Europe still ravages the party

Cameron has little room to manoeuvre as he twists towards the next crisis

(Top row) Akhtar Dogar, Anjum Dogar, Kamar Jamil; (Bottom row) Assad Hussain, Bassam Karrar, Mohammed Karrar and Zeeshan Ahmed

The Oxford child sex abuse verdict highlights a cultural problem, but not a specifically Muslim one

Parallels between the Oxford case and last year’s case in Rochdale raise some difficult questions. But the issues are much more complex than they seem

If you believe David Cameron is happy about his party's latest row over Europe, you'll believe anything

The man who told the Tories to stop 'banging on about Europe' has been sucked into banging on and on about it

Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Mud wrestling is only entertaining now and again

Oh, how they laughed. Explaining George Osborne’s absence from Treasury Questions, Chief Secretar.....

The Sketch: Will Nicholas Soames be remembered as the new Horatius?

Rising to his feet, Nicholas Soames, the larger than life – in every sense – Tory MP for Mid-Suss.....

Martin Schulz: Europe needs to change, let the debate begin

For some the idea of an  'ever closer union' is in freefall

Harriet Walker: It may sound trite, but sun and smiles are natural partners

Spring – and the advent of the wedding season – and such a fluttering of new feeling that I hardl.....

Tim Key: 'We'd acquired the reindeer head from a Finnish military man called Snoopy'

I'm sat in my flat waiting for the paint to dry on the wooden hippopotamus's head I recovered fro.....

Starchitect’s Maze peace centre forgot the Irish

There are two things about Daniel Libeskind’s design for the peace centre on the Maze prison site.....

Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Nurseryshambles debate is a lot more than a stroll in the park for Liz Truss

In a long, and, by current standards, less than politically correct description, Raymond Chandler.....

Donald Macintyre's Sketch: A bejewelled, bemedalled, boring panto, starring Sir Alex Ferguson

Consternation! Twitter storm! Chris Grayling, or “Lord High Chancellor” to give him his Mikado-es.....

The tragic letter that opened the floodgates

I’ve had countless emails from women and men who were similarly molested
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Day In a Page

The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.
Why bitters are back on the bar: A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...