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

Among this month's contributors

The Old Un's Notes

NOT MANY DEAD • Important stories you may have missed

P G Wodehouse's Plum Lines

GREAT BORES OF TODAY - MODERN CHRISTMAS

Iain Macleod, my dream Christmas elf • Worried about buying the perfect present? A Chancellor of the Exchequer had the right idea – leave it till the last minute

Show me Farage as a schoolboy… • … and I'll show you what his teenage ‘banter’ really means

OLDEN LIFE

MODERN LIFE

Brando vs Sinatra • Harry Cluff salutes the 70th anniversary of Guys and Dolls – and its sparring stars

Year of living grumpily • Forget the season of goodwill. Roger Lewis reviews the miseries of 2025 – from his ballooning waistline to his shrinking savings

The swan song of Michael Flanders • On the 50th anniversary of his death, Simon Berry salutes Flanders – and Swann

Confessions of a party animal • Dreading Christmas gatherings? You must go, says Rachel Johnson – who always says yes

First-class ticket to heaven • As the railways turn 200, Harry Mount visits the world's oldest model-railway club

We're doomed! • John Humphrys worked with three BBC chiefs – who all met grisly ends

Hot date • Christopher Sandford looks back 50 years to 1976 – and the raid at Entebbe, the Sex Pistols and the hottest summer for two centuries

Grandpa's long shadow • Somerset Maugham was tricky, touchy – and affectionate. By his grandson Jonathan Hope

Don't get the hump • Osteoporosis – and the iPhone plague – lead to bad posture. Here's how to stay ahead of the curve

Let them bake cake

G K Chesterton's Tips for an Old-Fashioned Xmas

My winter's tale? A bumper harvest of fruit ‘n’ nuts

Moscow's useful – and generous – idiot • Richard Gott was a traitor and a fool, but he was very nice to a young Mary Kenny

Father's in love with the postman • Pity the poor postie when Dad tickled him behind the ear

The shepherds’ Christmas message

Hilary Weston CM CVO OOnt (1942-2025)

The fall and rise of heart attacks • They were in decline – before Covid came along

Philip Larkin was gloomy - and wonderful • The poet was one of the funniest, kindest men I ever knew

Alastair Sim and Stanley Holloway

The Great Manure Race

Search for the Holy Grail • When the Reverend Steve Morris isn't taking Christmas services, he's a bookseller on the hunt for priceless, antiquarian volumes

READERS’ 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

Memo to self - pay attention in class

Behind the scenes at your local museum • Across Britain, there are gold mines, crammed with neighbourhood history

Commonplace Corner

RANT

The full Monty

America express

Hannibal's lecture

Renaissance writers

The great noticer

Diana's bloodhounds

FILM • WAKE UP DEAD MAN (12A)

THEATRE •...