The Oldie

The idea for the Oldie was cooked up 25 years ago by its founding editor, Richard Ingrams, and his much-lamented successor, the late Alexander Chancellor. Their aim was to create a free-thinking, funny magazine, a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity. The Oldie is ageless and timeless, free of retirement advice, crammed with rejuvenating wit, intelligence and delight. With over 100 pages in every issue, The Oldie is packed with funny cartoons and free-thinking and intelligent articles covering a wide range of topics – from gardening and books to travel, arts, entertainment, and so much more.

The Oldie

The Old Un’s Notes

Among this month’s contributors

NOT MANY DEAD • Important stories you may have missed

My love affair with Donna Tartt • I can’t stop whispering sweet nothings to the American novelist

The art of the racing certainty • The going is good — when I have inside information

OLDEN LIFE

MODERN LIFE

A day to remember • The British Army is still shaped by WWII, 80 years after VE Day. By Julian Buczacki

Sixty years of Satisfaction • Mick Jagger tells his brother Chris Jagger how, in 1965, the Rolling Stones recorded a new song that rocked the world

When Hitler met Freud • Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran have written a new play about a monster meeting a genius

So long, old New York • On the city’s 400th anniversary, Roger Lewis recalls the last glory days of Manhattan

Cream of café society • Everyone, from the Beatles to Celia Johnson, patronised Kardomah Cafés. David Wheeler visits the last branch, in Swansea

A very English traitor • At Guy Burgess’s last birthday, in Moscow, the drunk spy was obsessed with Eton, Cambridge and the British newspapers. By Iain Pears

Alex is axed • The cartoon rogue of the City has been sacked by the Telegraph. Robert Bathurst, who played him on stage, talks to his creators

What a Dumbo! I lied about Walt Disney • Why oh why did I tell a journalist I was writing his biography?

My rubbery day’s work • Hugo Vickers hated his career at a merchant bank - except for his trip to investigate a condom factory

French polish • The Huguenots, expelled from France 340 years ago, had a huge influence on British history, from banking to weaving. By Tessa Murdoch

The Hip History Man • Rupert Thomas salutes Christopher Gibbs, the charming aesthete and antiquarian

The big squeezy • Corsets are back - and they have a magical effect on your figure

Soaring cost of top doctors

Why can’t my son talk proper?

Free at last — from waiting in Waitrose for Mary

I’m a teacher — not a prison guard

Hot dogs, the Beano and grief • Mother’s right — I can’t survive on my daily diet

Cheapside Hoard wasn’t so cheap • A new book reveals the secrets behind a treasure trove of Tudor jewellery

Who wants to drive for ever? Oldies do • When Mary kenny lost her nerve behind the wheel, a brilliant guru got her back on the road

Beware the green-eyed, deadly sin

James Fawcett (1964-2025)

Lifetime risk of death? 100 per cent • You can’t avoid all risks but bone scans might guard against fractures

Derek Fowlds

Deadly VE Day in Tunbridge Wells

READERS’S LETTERS • The Oldie, 23—31 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PA letters@theoldie.co.uk To sign up for our e-newsletter, go to www.theoldie.co.uk

Carry On Crying

First Lady of Fleet St

Hedge fun

And did those feet…

Sacred monster

Shakespeare’s King

Commonplace Corner

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