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The newest stories from The Fence — features, facts, fiction and more.

Poet Lorryete
Ray Philp

Poet Lorryete

Tracking down a Glasgow cabbie with a passion for controversy... and poetry.

22 January 2026
Short-Arseing Around the Picasso
Jade Angeles Fitton

Short-Arseing Around the Picasso

Whatever happened to the coolest café in London?

15 January 2026
All My Friends Are Famous
Chris Black

All My Friends Are Famous

The mysterious covenant of the celebrity-civilian friendship pact.

13 January 2026
Choo-Choo-Cha-Boogie
Dan Richards

Choo-Choo-Cha-Boogie

Steam through history, as we take a ride on the very first locomotive engine.

5 January 2026
Rumours of Our Death
The Fence

Rumours of Our Death

Forecasts of print’s demise have been around for as long as press barons have been buying ink by the barrel. We asked a panel of print icons how the medium has fared in the first quarter-century of this millennium.

18 December 2025
The Ceremonial Counties of England… Ranked!
The Fence

The Ceremonial Counties of England… Ranked!

A deeply subjective guide to the shires, starting at the top and finishing, of course, at the bottom. We brook no arguments.

17 December 2025
When the Sleigh Bells Ring
Isobel Thompson

When the Sleigh Bells Ring

Isobel Thompson met Santa Claus.

16 December 2025
Czech in, Cash out
Fergus Butler-Gallie

Czech in, Cash out

Fergus Butler-Gallie seeks bodily and monetary cleanliness.

16 December 2025
Sent to Coventry
Rory MacNeish

Sent to Coventry

Decca Mitford’s son, Ben Treuhaft, is a piano tuner with a purple-dyed goatee, living between Edinburgh and the West Midlands. But does he share his mother’s politics?

9 December 2025
Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, His Name Chaos
Tamlin Magee

Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, His Name Chaos

The cosmic wandering of Michael Vaughan Magee, as relayed by his son.

8 December 2025
No More Worlds to Conquer
Ella Benson Easton

No More Worlds to Conquer

Dropping in on Robin Lane Fox, Britain's most quixotic newspaper columnist.

2 December 2025
Summa Cum Laude
Gary Grimes

Summa Cum Laude

Paying a visit to the country’s premier gay for pay university, run by Andy Lee, a straight-talking Dubliner.

24 November 2025