Diary – 16 May 2019

There are many places where a gay Jewish couple wearing yarmulkes wouldn’t feel comfortable walking down the street. I didn’t think west London was one of them. Ambling along Edgware Road to a wedding at the West London Synagogue, however, my partner feels something land on his jacket. At first, he believes it is bird dropping. Closer examination reveals the white gob to be human spittle. Later, we tell a friend, Harry Cole of the Mail on Sunday, who tweets about it. The Sky News presenter Adam Boulton replies: ‘No excuse but it is a Middle Eastern quarter.’ He later apologises. Perhaps we should have known better than to don yarmulkes on a street with so many kebab shops, hookah bars and women in chadors.

Table conversation at the wedding reception inevitably turns to politics. As an American, I am asked for my view of Britain’s predicament. I express dismay at the anti-Semitism that has infected the Labour party. ‘Don’t you think it’s all just lies pushed by the right-wing press to discredit Jeremy Corbyn?’ a young lady not so much enquires as declares. I think of the alarming figure that 40 per cent of British Jews would consider leaving the country were Corbyn to become prime minister. ‘We’re at a Jewish wedding,’ I reply. ‘Presumably there are many people here you could ask.’

Most popular

James Tidmarsh

The end of the pick ’n’ mix passport

From the wedding celebration, we go straight to Canterbury on the high-speed train to spend a few days at the Georgian manor home of David Starkey. The Red House dates to 1721, making it older than the United States. Our host is an institution of sorts — not just a leading historian of the British monarchy, a popular television pundit and a man who has overcome great obstacles to reach the heights of several professions, but also a fantastic cook.