Phone love

I recently spent ten days in hospital. One of the non-medical consequences is that I'm now lavishly appreciative of my phone (by the way, the medical consequences were also positive). It's a smartphone that I acquired via an upgrade a couple of months ago. It entertained me beyond my wildest dreams. ... Read More...

National treasures – Massys: An Old Woman

Continuing our series looking at great paintings housed in London's National Gallery... Just as Breugel’s irreverent Adoration of the Kings is an enjoyably startling incongruity amongst the National’s religious scenes, so An Old Woman is a bit of a surprise amongst its numerous portraits of noblewomen and alabaster-skinned beauties. Painted in about 1513 ... Read More...

Shell Guides

Time for another guest post from author Alexandra Harris. Alex teaches literature at the University of Liverpool and writes about all kinds of art, from novels and paintings to cookery and gardening. Her book Romantic Moderns (Thames & Hudson) was described by Peter Conrad in last Sunday's Observer 'Book of The ... Read More...

COMPETITION: Win a Christmas Fox

Christmas Foxes are Slightly Foxed’s special seasonal editions. Beautifully-bound and compact, they make an ideal stocking-filler for the book-lover in your family, or a literary alternative to a Christmas card. This year’s edition features a delightful short story by author Linda Leatherbarrow. It costs £6.50 in the UK or £7.50 overseas, and ... Read More...

RetroProgressive – Old school style

Do you remember the ‘old school’ days of the late 1970s when college blazers were worn with pride, and occasionally even customized with unique badges and embellishment? Such fashions were part of a craze for ‘uniform’ dressing that inspired a media-led lifestyle, popularized by The USA’s Official Preppy Handbook, published in ... Read More...

Winner!

Thank you to all those who entered the competition-within-a-competition to 'improve on Betjeman'. After much deliberation we have decided to award the prize to Jay from the Depp Effect. Her winning entry was: Childhood is measured out by scrapes and sanctions, punishments and tears, before the day that parents dread, when role reversal clouds their ... Read More...