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

GREAT BORES OF TODAY - OLD FILMS

My Never-Ending Diary • I've kept a precious journal since 1959 – my wife is longing to dump it all in a skip

Goad John McEnroe? You cannot be serious! • The Wimbledon champ did not like my dinner-party banter

WHAT WAS the Pink Un?

WHAT IS subscription creep?

Cartoonist of the century • Mark Bryant salutes Osbert Lancaster, satirist and gifted architectural artist

Sweet Caroline • A decade after her death, Paul Burke salutes the confidence, genius and fragile humility of Caroline Aherne, his friend and colleague

First, do no harm • When Miriam Stoppard became a doctor 65 years ago, she was shocked by the treatment of female patients

Life of Bryan • On the centenary of actor-director Bryan Forbes, Nanette Newman, his wife, recalls falling in love with him when she was 18

My last drink • After England were knocked out of Euro 96, Tony Adams, the Arsenal and England captain, drowned his sorrows on an epic scale

Contempt of court • James Birkin, 69, can't get work as a barrister, thanks to age discrimination

Let's not do it • Liz Hodgkinson wrote a bestseller about her sexless marriage 40 years ago. Now celibacy is a hot topic once more

I ❤ le French exit • When bores strike, polite Jackie Verrall makes her getaway without telling anyone

Slutty skirts - naughty and not very nice

The bookish Mitford sister • Nicky Dunne recalls Nancy Mitford's time behind the till

Tour guides from Hell • James Pembroke dreads the show-offs who bore sightseers to death

Norman Balon in Heaven - by Michael Heath

Teething problems • British teeth are about to get a whole lot worse, my dentist says

Confessions of a serial pill-popper

My deaf sentence • When her hearing aid packed up, Mary Kenny was suddenly confined to an isolated, miserable world

Keep cool – by the grace of God

A house! My kingdom for a house – for my children

Silver service for spoilt parents • I toast their crumpets and act out the TV listings – with no thanks

SISTER TERESA KESWICK • A humble lesson in washing feet

Dr David Gelber (1981-2025)

Strange brain pains • How do you explain neurological symptoms with no obvious cause?

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

Illuminating the Dark Ages • A new book unveils the real King Arthur

Nelson Mandela

Dad saved the 1966 World Cup Final

God bless the day I joined the London Library • On its 185th birthday, it should salute its founder, Thomas Carlyle

Gorgeous George • Tonight the Music Seems So Loud – The Meaning of George Michael

Looting Putin • Suing the Kremlin – The Battle for Putin's Billions

Gulliver turns 300 • The Twitnam Summer - Friendship, Satire and the Writing...