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

My sure-fire tip for Royal Ascot • I’m not a betting man but my brilliant ruse left me in the black

Sparks still fly • The 1970s band are thrilling in concert in their late seventies

OLDEN LIFE

MODERN LIFE

Peter Sellers, the mad genius • His biographer, Roger Lewis, salutes the crazy, monstrous, brilliant actor on his centenary

Oh, what lovely war tunes • Michael Karam will salute the 80th anniversary of VJ Day with his favourite childhood LP of great movie themes

Dancing Queen • Eighty years ago, Lady Antonia Fraser, then 12, celebrated VJ Day on the streets of London with Princess Elizabeth, 19

The LA Pelés • Fifty years ago, Ian La Frenais and Rod Stewart kicked off in California

Swimming against the tide • Ettie Neil-Gallacher tried to swim the Channel, 150 years after Captain Webb’s triumph

Dickens the authorpreneur • Ambitious writers must become businessmen to succeed.

Pumping for joy • Quentin Letts longs for the days of helpful petrol-pump attendants

Bottom marks for botox • No one likes talking to a frozen face

Shear magic

The Socrates Guide to a Happy Death

My name is Giles and I’m a YouTube addict

Mother Superior’s supreme advice • A wise nun gave Mary Kenny the best ever tip – always rise above slights and insults

Accident & Emergency & Sadness • Father’s in Casualty – and Mother’s lost without him

Women are much nicer than men • So why do we snigger when ladies live together?

Semicolons are a joy; a magician’s wand

Lemmy from Motörhead

Moscow hack who came in from the cold

Love among the ruins

Sir John Nott (1932-2024)

Deaf penalty of earphones • A deafness epidemic is in store for the young

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

Putting Britain on the map • Maps reveal our history — from the Roman invasion to the Cold War

Commonplace Corner

RANT

The King’s moneyman

Scarborough fares

Doctor knows

Mother from Hell

Durrell trouble

Sects and the City

FILM

THEATRE

RADIO

TELEVISION

MUSIC

GOLDEN OLDIES

EXHIBITIONS

GARDENING

KITCHEN GARDEN

COOKERY

RESTAURANTS

DRINK

SPORT

MOTORING

Not so intelligent Artificial Intelligence

Financial patience is a virtue

Come to the real Vienna and Prague with Christopher Wentworth-Stanley 7th to 14th May 2026

Whinchat

Waterloo’s gatekeepers • The Château d’Hougoumont was shattered in the great victory. Now, 210 years later, its elegant garden is to be restored.

Manchester’s palace of culture • The John Rylands Library is a Gothic marvel, crammed with the rarest volumes and illuminated manuscripts

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