This year’s festive season was far from merry for Britain’s high streets. Footfall was down for the second successive year by 2.2 per cent. Cost of...

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Stefano Hatfield

Children can rediscover the joy of reading with these simple steps

As the season of resolutions begins, many of us will commit to some form of self-improvement. We pledge to exercise, eat better, or spend less time...

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Stefano Hatfield

Believing in Santa is about more than just magic

Childhood is brief and magical, a time when the impossible feels possible, and the world is full of wonder. For a fleeting moment, we believe in...

15.12.2024 5

Stefano Hatfield

There's only one present worth giving this Christmas

Presents are curious things. In theory, they mark our journeys, reflecting who we are, what we value, and our lives at a given moment. But all too...

08.12.2024 4

Stefano Hatfield

Football fans have had enough

When is enough actually enough? What is the point beyond which the cost/value equation is irrelevant and “things” simply cost too much to have any...

05.12.2024 5

Stefano Hatfield

The tragedies in Laos should not signal the end of the gap year

The tragic deaths of six tourists in Laos from methanol poisoning leave many parents wrestling with an age-old dilemma: how much freedom should we...

25.11.2024 5

Stefano Hatfield

The worst thing about party season – and how to beat it

I had a big party for my 60th birthday this weekend, mostly because I’m just happy to be alive after my second heart attack earlier this year. As I...

18.11.2024 3

Stefano Hatfield

How I staved off an existential crisis about turning 60

“Sir, how do you feel about more than half your life being over?” If I wasn’t having an existential crisis about turning 60 this week, one of my...

11.11.2024 4

Stefano Hatfield

The US election has divided my family – the youngest are so pro-Trump

I’ve been visiting close family in Boston, Massachusetts. It is akin to being wrapped in the flags of the USA and Italy: being fed, nourished,...

04.11.2024 5

Stefano Hatfield

If you want to see two-tier Britain, just look at our schools

Last week brought yet another depressing set of headlines about the desultory provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities...

28.10.2024 8

Stefano Hatfield

Chris Hoy has always been inspirational - but this is something else

I heard the sad news about Sir Chris Hoy’s terminal cancer just after seeing my favourite play, Samuel Beckett’s thought-provoking Waiting For...

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Stefano Hatfield

I'm a middle-aged man and cannot get enough of Wagatha Christie

I have a guilty pleasure. Like many I profess to not caring about celebrities, but I am secretly obsessed with the Wagatha Christie saga. This...

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Modern Christmas is about choosing which battles not to fight

Stefano Hatfield

The town in Kent that's proof Britain is completely broken

Stefano Hatfield

I’m a reformed Christmas grinch – and here’s why you should be too

Stefano Hatfield

Young, skint workers are subsidising wealthy pensioners - time to means test the state pension

Stefano Hatfield

Sorry, but we should all be paying more council tax

Stefano Hatfield

The forgotten victims of this housing crisis: the pensioners forced to downsize

Stefano Hatfield

Middle-aged workers like me are forced to become the masters of reinvention

Stefano Hatfield

Snobby about university? Time to consider other routes

Stefano Hatfield

Brits don't want to admit it but we're a bunch of social climbers

Stefano Hatfield

The Ryder Cup bile shows how easily sporting pride can slip into ugly nationalism

Stefano Hatfield

We are abandoning the 200,000 men signed off work for life

Stefano Hatfield

St Carlo’s biggest miracle would be getting Gen Z to church

Stefano Hatfield

Schools are going to close down if fertility rates continue like this

Stefano Hatfield

Liberals, you now have a duty to hang the St George's flag

Stefano Hatfield

My summer holiday has been exhausting – all thanks to tipping

Stefano Hatfield

Tan lines are 'back' – but don't fall for this age-old fashion fad

Stefano Hatfield

Kids aren't reading - but we can do one thing to change that

Stefano Hatfield

Novak Djokovic and Amanda Anisimova’s humiliating losses are a lesson in managing failure

Stefano Hatfield

I'm a teacher - I don't blame parents for term-time holidays

Stefano Hatfield

I’m a teacher, so I can’t possibly go to Glastonbury

Stefano Hatfield

Jarvis Cocker proves middle-aged dads can be cool - by being themselves

Stefano Hatfield

Why is food always so bad at BBQs? Allow me to explain

Stefano Hatfield

Laugh all you like, but Boris and Carrie are setting an example

Stefano Hatfield

I judged people who were upset over the Sycamore Gap tree - I was wrong

Stefano Hatfield

The Pope planned his own funeral, and so should we

Stefano Hatfield

In divorce, pets should be treated like children

Stefano Hatfield

The Easter story still holds lessons for modern, secular Britain

Stefano Hatfield

Men's health is a crisis we can no longer afford to ignore

Stefano Hatfield

Justin Welby's vulnerability serves as deflection

Stefano Hatfield

I'm a teacher - Adolescence is making parents realise young men are in big trouble

Stefano Hatfield

I saw a shoplifter turn nasty - new laws can't come soon enough

Stefano Hatfield

Gene Hackman and an uncomfortable truth about community

Stefano Hatfield

I get strange looks for wearing a suit and tie, but how we dress at work matters

Stefano Hatfield

I gave a woman 'the ick' - men have it too hard these days

Stefano Hatfield

Princess Kate's charity is right: we need to look at our children, not our phones

Stefano Hatfield

We boomers have more than paid our dues – so stop whining

Stefano Hatfield

The number of students getting extra exam time is a crisis in plain sight

Stefano Hatfield

Like LA, my mother's home town was hit by disaster - yet they started again

Stefano Hatfield

Gen Z have ruined shopping – they are not made for customer service