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

Want to be good at sex? Lose a leg • The late Robin Dalton, 101, said one-legged men do it better

Why is my bath green with algae? • I’ll risk being poisoned rather than call the plumber

My dog’s last days • Ysenda Maxtone Graham learnt ten valuable lessons when her terrier hit old age

WHAT WAS a party line?

WHAT IS skimpflation?

A picture of dear Raymond • Contrary to his grumpy-old-man image, Raymond Briggs was a joy to deal with, says Harry Mount, Oldie editor

Flight of the Sultan • A century ago, the Ottoman Empire collapsed after 600 years – and 36 Sultans.

The final countdown • When Norah Vincent, a bestselling American writer, went to a Swiss clinic to end her life, her friend Justine Hardy travelled with her

Mother knows best • Liz Hodgkinson’s sons are in their fifties but she still longs to tell them to comb their hair and iron their shirts

Bowled over by Harold • Shomit Dutta so loved playing cricket with the great writer that he’s written a play about Pinter, Samuel Beckett and our national game

The first tabloid hack • Marchamont Nedham was the Piers Morgan of the Civil War – with ‘a public brothel in his mouth’.

The Guv’nor’s master-class • Peter O’Toole would have been 90 on 2nd August. Annabel Leventon learnt a vast amount from his acting lessons

Got the wrong bra? It’s a global problem • You need a proper fitting to avoid chafing, wobbling and side spillage

The seven ages of woman • Elinor Goodman so hated getting older that she had no birthday parties for 50 years. When she turned 70, she changed her mind

Stop beating yourself up • Self-criticism produces anxiety, depression and loneliness. Psychotherapist Julia Bueno explains why we do ourselves down

My no-frills funeral • I want to die cheaply, but even medical colleges don’t want my body

England killed Van Dyck • When the Flemish master got into the London fast set, he fell victim to a stingy Charles I – and a lethal epidemic.

Caught red-handed in a red-light district

I’m tired of London – not tired of life

The robotic age of the train • Please keep some real people in my little railway station, says Mary Kenny

Pupils must join the culture club

Quite Interesting Things about … Uttar Pradesh

An ancient nun’s prayer – don’t be bossy

Lord Remnant CVO (1930-2022)

Me? Old? How dare you? • The rampant victim culture is now preying on oldies

READERS’ LETTERS

Harrison Ford

An Irish pirate in Colchester

Travel sickness • A N Wilson enjoys a new history of British tourists and wonders why we frantically rush abroad every summer

CHARLES SPENCER • Act of Oblivion

CARMEN CALLIL • Blurb Your Enthusiasm: An A-Z of Literary Persuasion

THEODORE DALRYMPLE • And Finally: Matters of Life and Death

PETER MCKAY • The Chief: The Life of Lord Northcliffe, Britain’s Greatest Press Baron

LUCINDA...