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

The King and I • What a Coronation! There were lots of loos, Emma Thompson saved a choirboy - and I stole Lionel Richie’s seat

I'm fed up with feedback • Why should I review my new toothbrush?

OLDEN LIFE

MODERN LIFE

Do talk nonsense • We used to love people talking rubbish, from Edward Lear to Monty Python. It’s time for an absurd revival, says Piers Pottinger

Loose Cannon • Three years after Bobby Ball died, Tommy Cannon, his bereft comedy partner, is back on stage. He talks to William Cook

Born to be wild • Writer Roger Deakin belonged to the lucky generation, who missed national service and rejoiced in 1960s freedom.

Goodbye, possums! • Bruce Beresford mourns his friend Barry Humphries. Cartoon by Nick Garland

Barry's last words • For 40 years, Barry Humphries wrote to Roger Lewis about John Betjeman, Oscar Wilde - and the Grim Reaper

Neighbour from Hell • For 40 years, Valerie Grove has lived opposite a modernist horror – and now it’s spawned an extension

Dead funny • Why are accidents so amusing? Oliver and Matt Pritchett have the answer

Bletchley reject • During the war, Philip Larkin was keen to become a code-breaker. Despite his brains, he didn’t make the grade.

In the swim • How to build a swimming pool this summer for under £1,000.

Growing pains • Teenage anxiety and depression are soaring. Charlotte Metcalf applauds a new programme that looks into the causes and cures

Music hall's last act • When Kenneth Cranham starred with Max Wall, he became friends with the great tragicomic clown of the age

Where's the corned beef? • It fed the wartime troops and was a ration-book staple - and Trevor Grove's father used to make it in Argentina

End of the road • The last episode of On the Buses aired 50 years ago. Andrew Roberts salutes its mixture of cheap sets, nylon shirts and marital angst

The ring cycle • Prince Harry’s got one but the King and Prince William haven’t. Liz Hodgkinson says men shouldn’t wear wedding rings

Handbags - as crucial as glad rags • The more you spend, the smaller they must be

Do mention the Mughals • Narendra Modi, the Indian PM, is censoring a great civilisation

London's overpriced, golden streets

I’m retired and moving house? Fake news!

Don't get angry over the famine - get rich • The Irish have come up with the ideal riposte to British blunders - loads of money.

The Cleethorpes Guide for Single Men • When my friends are dumped, they ask me for advice on the singleton's life

Death threats in the classroom

Quite Interesting Things about … lunch

Evil tales of human bondage

Dame Hilary Mantel (1952-2022)

Ignore Wallis Simpson's health tip • She was wrong - you can be too thin

READER'S LETTER • The Oldie, 23–31 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PA letters@theoldie.co.uk To sign up for our e-newsletter, go...