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

De Niro makes me an offer I can refuse • The great actor said I should have more children. At 77, it's time for me to shut up shop

Where the wild things are? My garden • The rat-infested jungle speaks volumes about my character

OLDEN LIFE

MODERN LIFE

PC Smith & PC Jones rock the world • Forty years ago, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones played Live Aid - as policemen

Thrill of the chaste • Young Frenchmen flirt innocently with older women. Catriona Olding loves it

Pete & Dud & Me • Dick Clement loved directing the charming, inspired double act, 60 years ago

Small change • As Ann Shearer has got older, she’s shrunk by more than two inches – but don’t call her a little old lady

Nice as pie • Fray Bentos pies may be much mocked – but Paul Heiney devoted a whole dinner party to his favourite comfort food

Fray Bentos saved my life

Long live the novelty act • Freak shows have disappeared, thank God – but Piers Pottinger still adores weird, wonderful and inspired comic turns

My bed of nails • Peter Hanks, bedbound since February, is learning to accept home confinement

The lying game • We all spend our lives not saying what we really mean. Joseph Connolly tells the truth behind his favourite white lies

Glass half-empty • Decanters are out of fashion – time to fill them up! By Simon Berry

Sun, sea and clichés • In 17 years as a travel editor, Mark Palmer was driven crazy by hackneyed expressions

Mark Palmer’s Banned Words in Travel Pieces

Burial grounds • Highgate Cemetery is packed - but Parliament has allowed new arrivals to rest in old graves.

My golden secret • John Humphrys has found the most valuable treasure on earth - the perfect builder

Bag for life • Katia Pilar, 76, resented her stoma bag but is now completely at ease with it

Save the girls from the lost boys

Summertime - and the clothing is easy • You can't beat a summer dress for universally flattering comfort

Deep condolences • Amy Dancer, widowed three years ago, on what helps the bereaved

Living la Dolce Vita in my local shopping centre

My worst fear? Mary and I become silver splitters

Feeding the 450 - a modern miracle

Trollope's best idea? The Irish Post Office • The Victorian novelist set up the finest postal-delivery service on earth, says Mary Kenny

The Wild West of Cleethorpes • Even in the morning, the town is alive with pub fights - and Rioting Ron's new romance

A good election? Is the Pope Catholic?

13th Marquess of Lothian (1945-2024)

CAT scans aren't the cat's whiskers • The first scanners were venerated - but they aren't miraculous

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

America the Beautiful • Forget Donald Trump. The USA is way more...