In this issue

● The Oldie has been dubbed ‘Private Eye for grown-ups’ and is read by intelligent people who are fed up with the formulaic nature of the celebrity-obsessed national press
● As well as having a lively reviews section, The Oldie is packed with the very best cartoons
● The Oldie is published every four weeks and has 92–122 pages. Every quarter we publish The Oldie Review of Books with the main magazine, as well as a foreign travel supplement in January, a UK travel supplement in March, a Christmas Gift Guide in November and a cartoon calendar

Gyles Brandreth's Diary: How to kill your wife and get away with it

P D James and John Mortimer gave me tips for the perfect murder

4 mins

My work is much more fun than fun

Paul Ewart, an Oxford research physicist, recently won a landmark case. He wanted to be allowed to carry on working beyond the statutory university retirement age of 67. Ewart argued that, at 70, he still had important research work to do.

2 mins

A right royal farce

As Spitting Image returns, producer John Lloyd recalls how the show was nearly banned

8 mins

Best Sherlock Holmes on TV? Elementary

Jeremy Brett, who died 25 years ago, captured the master sleuth perfectly, says Damian Thompson, an obsessive fan

5 mins

Stammer blow

A stammerer since childhood, Nigel Phillips enjoyed and endured a successful and stressful language-teaching career. Did anything help?

4 mins

The heroes – and villains – of the Blitz

Eighty years ago, there was plenty of Blitz spirit, says Joshua Levine. There was also lots of crime, terror and illicit sex

5 mins

King of the Army

Sergeant Elvis Presley finished his service in Germany sixty years ago – and became a greater singer, says Andrew M Brown

6 mins

The critic who cared too much

Ian Nairn wrote brilliantly about buildings, made glorious TV – and drowned his sorrows too deeply, remembers Jonathan Meades

5 mins

Travel: Hidden Staffordshire

William Cook visits Samuel Johnson’s Lichfield house and Tamworth, home to Robert Peel and Queen Aethelflaed

5 mins

Overlooked Britain What Delaval brought to the stable

Sir Francis Delaval added an equine palace to Seaton Delaval, Vanbrugh’s baroque jewel

4 mins

Read all stories from The Oldie Magazine

The Oldie Magazine Description:

The idea for the Oldie was conceived by Richard Ingrams, who was the editor for 22 years, and Alexander Chancellor.
● The Oldie is 23 years old this year. It is not a retirement magazine but an irreverent humorous magazine packed with great writing. 92% of our readers state ‘reading’ as their number one hobby
● The Oldie has been dubbed ‘Private Eye for grown-ups’ and is read by intelligent people who are fed up with the formulaic nature of the celebrity-obsessed national press
● As well as having a lively reviews section, The Oldie is packed with the very best cartoons
● The Oldie is published every four weeks and has 92–122 pages. Every quarter we publish The Oldie Review of Books with the main magazine, as well as a foreign travel supplement in January, a UK travel supplement in March, a Christmas Gift Guide in November and a cartoon calendar