The Oldie Magazine - November 2020

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

Love, Vicki

Victoria Wood’s letters reveal a shy, perfectionist, affectionate genius, shadowed by a lonely childhood, says her biographer, Jasper Rees

6 mins

On top of the world

Lewis Pugh, the first person to swim across the North Pole, admires a new Arctic exhibition at the British Museum

5 mins

Whodunnit? Dick Francis or his wife?

William Cook solves the ultimate mystery of the jockey, born 100 years ago. Did he write his bestsellers himself?

5 mins

My Pilgrim father

In 1957, a bold British journalist built a replica of the Mayflower and sailed it across the Atlantic.

3 mins

An Wilson – The Man Who Knows So Much

At 70, he’s written over 40 books but insists he isn’t clever. He tells Frances Wilson about Charles Dickens, sex and Meghan Markle

6 mins

Orchards are buzzing with birds and bees

JAMES LE FANU

3 mins

The bad taste of COVID-19

As coronavirus sufferers are discovering, a sense of smell is essential to enjoying the great pleasures of eating

3 mins

The 1,000-year soap opera

From Richard III to The Crown, monarchs make for perfect drama

4 mins

The Wigeon

At Elmley Nature Reserve on the Isle of Sheppey, last March, numerous premigrating wigeon (Anas penelope) were resting.

2 mins

Barbados revisited

Forty years ago, a teenage James Pembroke killed lizards in the blistering Caribbean heat. Now he rejoices in early colonial buildings

5 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