Harry Mount

3 weeks ago | theoldie.co.uk | Harry Mount

At a lunch at the National Liberal Club today, the writers Antonia Fraser and Jilly Cooper recalled Anthony Powell on the 25th anniversary of his death and the 50th anniversary of his completion of A Dance to the Music of Time. The writer died in 2000, aged 94. Antonia Fraser, 92, Anthony Powell's niece, remembered lodging with Anthony and Violet Powell in 1949, when Powell was embarking on his 12-volume magnum opus - like seeing Homer start The Iliad.

1 month ago | theoldie.co.uk | Harry Mount

43,626 puffins have been counted on Skomer. Harry Mount adores the island Skomer is the island that time forgot. A turtle-shaped island, just over a square mile in size, it’s moored a couple of hundred yards off the Pembrokeshire coast. It’s that tiny gap, whipped up by a vigorous, ten-knot current, between Skomer and the mainland, that makes it one of the world’s greatest nature reserves – the Welsh answer to the Galápagos Islands.

1 month ago | theoldie.co.uk | Harry Mount

As 133 cardinals voted in Pope Leo XIV, it's time to remember the 318 bishops who gathered together in Nicaea (now Iznkik, Turkey) 1,700 years ago. A special service at Temple Church will mark the 1,700th anniversary of the opening day of the Council of Nicaea on 20 May, 325 AD. The Temple Church service is at 12pm on 20 May.

2 months ago | theoldie.co.uk | Harry Mount |Robert Maxwell

Anne Robinson is hosting a new Channel 5 show, 'The Sentence - You be the Judge'. At 80, she tells Harry Mount about facelifts, drinking and Robert MaxwellWhat’s the laziest job in the world? Donald Trump’s personal trainer? Lord Lucan’s diary secretary? Or teaching Anne Robinson how to ask rude questions on The Weakest Link? That was my job 15 years ago – and it was entirely pointless. Robinson had an innate gift for examining human character – and tracking down its weak spots.

2 months ago | theoldie.co.uk | Harry Mount

The late Pope Francis wasn't keen on the Latin Mass - but the language is still at the heart of the Vatican and most of his funeral Mass is in Latin. By Harry MountThe Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. Still, Latin versions of the Bible became extremely influential very early on in the story of Christianity. You will have your own preferences as to the ideal language for the Bible.