Contents

NOTES FROM THE COUCH Idler’s Diary 6 Arthur Smith A new regular column from the comedy legend 12 How I Live Andy Wright, baker 14 Philosophy Mark Vernon on how time is much more than just seconds ticking by 18

FEATURES Interview: Titan of TV Tom Hodgkinson talks telly with the producer of The Crown, Andy Harries, and Idler TV writer Peter Fincham 22 Milton’s Wild Years Paradise Lost may not have been written if Milton hadn’t spent years idling, suggests author Joe Moshenka 30 The Bird is The Word An avian adventure starring Phoebe Beeby and Alun Mathias 36

The Physick Garden Ancient herbal remedies pictured by Alice Smith 43 Poetry with Anna Selby 52

STYLE Fashion: Joys of Spring Stylish selections with a botanical theme

54

Idle Home Georgina Williams visits a tenement house in Glasgow that’s barely changed in almost a century 60 The Good Stuff More designs to delight, chosen by Annabel Sampson and Charlotte Brook 68 Slow Tech Lee Osborne has fun with some seventies models 72

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