The Latest Breaking News from John Betjeman

Supermarket goods festooned with union jacks; ‘made in Britain’ labels everywhere. How my former homeland has changed

Prominent poets of the era — including John Betjeman, WH Auden, and Philip Larkin — were disparaged, accused of being drunkards, snobs, communists, mentally unstable, or even creators of explicit content

Newly released government files reveal bitter in-fighting over the prestigious literary appointment

Newly-released government files reveal bitter in-fighting over prestigious literary appointment

Newly released government files reveal bitter in-fighting over the prestigious literary appointment

Records from the National Archive reveal the cut-throat world of British poetry, and the politics behind selecting candidates

Newly-released government files reveal bitter in-fighting over the prestigious literary appointment.

During an appearance on Desert Island Discs in 2009, Barry Humphries declared that he would be happy if his obituaries made no mention of Dame Edna Everage, the monstrous Melbourne housewife he had created half-a-century earlier. Some hope, said The Times. True, Dame Edna wasn’t his only alter ego: there was also…

As they release their dystopian second album The Worm, Isobel Van Dyke discovers lead singer Henry Spychalski’s go-to tracks for a Friday night spent alone with his inner demons

Like so many rural railway stations, the early decades of the 20th century saw a fall in passenger numbers at Rowley, County Durham. After 1939 the station was only open to goods trains, and closed completely in 1966

Comedian leads coalition against ‘exploitative’ proposal for 16-storey buildings over listed station