At the end of a long metal chute, guests at the Bauhaus school’s 1928 ‘Metallic Party’ found themselves deposited in the first of a number of underground rooms faced in glittering white metal. Glass baubles, suspended from the ceiling, threw shadows across the floors, brass-coloured fruit bowls reflected the movements of dancers, and the clank of heavy costumes supported the jazz band’s rhythm section. One elaborately dressed woman coquettishly offered her wrist to other gues

The arrival of spring is palpable in the London air; mornings are balmy rather than biting, and daffodils are now confidently marking their territory in St James’ Park. What's more, my tickets to Italy are booked, and in a couple of months I will be sipping a deliciously creamy affogato on a sunny Roman terrace. Luckily for me, this small post-lunch indulgence has recently been afforded greater importance following Italian cuisine’s recognition as Intangible Cultural Herita

I, a Homo sapiens , am the youngest of four. What a gift. Growing up was easy; it was all imitation. My sister – let’s call her N – was especially useful. I hoped to develop her perseverance – and rejected less favourable traits – a persistent lateness to meetings comes to mind. With time, our differences have become more marked, to the detriment of our relationship. Aided by my superior height, perhaps, I no longer feel the weight of N ’s authority. The days of curiously eye

The Lobster is a serious arts and literature magazine. It seems slightly offensive, therefore, to add an article on Emily in Paris to its content. And yet, needs must. By ‘needs’, I mean my newfound interest in immigration law. Visas sound dull. Emily Cooper, however, screams (literally) intrigue and glamour. I hope that by combining the two, immigration law will become the next topic en vogue . Emily Cooper is truly spectacular – a superwoman of sorts. The opening of the f

Keir Starmer’s government has been disappointing. From decimating the foreign aid budget, to controversy over the winter fuel allowance, and now welfare cuts, Starmer has had a rough first year. It is depressing, looking on our first Labour government in over a decade. A limp-wristed approach to growth and reform, without much of a vision for a new Britain, or new Labour even. With a massive influx of new MPs, many with very little experience (and an admittedly bleak economic

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are perhaps the most consequential figures of our time. Given the recent ‘break up’ between the former head of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ and the President, it is worth looking back at this troubled relationship. As with any divorce, both parties are left wondering ‘what went wrong?’ and ‘how did I not see the signs?’. From the outside, anyone could see how the Trump/Musk partnership would end; that is, in tears. Recent events have, h

The world seemed to still as the white smoke poured out of the chimney – only the seagulls moved. A brief moment of realisation, before an eruption of cheers. Who would we get? Cardinal Tagle? Zuppi? Which face would arrive on the balcony in an hour? Which historic ‘first’ would we get? We waited, and waited, and finally… wait, who is that? To many of you this is a familiar turn of events – when Leo XIV was announced, many frantically googled the name ‘Robert Prevost’. “He’

Justin Trudeau left office unpopular, uninspiring, and unhelpful to the Liberal’s chances of retaining their slim control over the Canadian Parliament. In his wake, the sensible, popular, and useful Mark Carney has taken over – the new, albeit unelected, Canadian Prime Minister. As we come close to the inevitable cage match between Carney and his Conservative opponent, Pierre Poilievre, we are left wondering how the PM brought back the Liberal’s hopes for a potential win at t

When 2025 rolled around, and we started considering what went wrong in 2024, we may have decided to make an ‘ins and outs’ list for the new year. More exercise ‘in’, junk food ‘out’ - these things don’t tend to last long. I, however, have been thinking about what might have been on Justin Trudeau’s ins and outs, or Donald Trump’s. Surely for the former, Canada made its way to the ‘outs’ column. For Trump, it seems to have been ‘in’. What about the public itself? What made it

Britain’s new Prime Minister has a real image problem. In just five months Keir Starmer’s approval rating has plummeted to -38, a significant drop from the +11 rating he held post-election, according to a More in Common poll. The desire for change in the British public has seemingly remained steadfast, moving against the Conservatives to Labour. What can be said, however, looking at the past six months of government? Does the British public deserve better? As we settle into t

Germany is an invented state. Or rather, Germany Mark X (patent 1990) is an invented state. It was invented to replace Germany Mark IX (i) and Germany Mark IX (ii – both patent 1949), because they, like Germany Marks VIII (1933), VII (1919), VI (1916), V (1890), IV (1871), III (1867), II (1848), and I (800-1806), had stopped working. Germanies – Mark I aside – have enjoyed an average life expectancy of about 20 years since the introduction of Mark II in 1848. Yes folks, if hi

Recent events have left Democrats around the US playing the all too familiar blame game - we see this with every election, grasping at straws to figure out how on earth they lost. With Donald Trump’s recent comeback victory, and a swing-state landslide at that, Kamala Harris supporters are left with one key question - what on earth just happened? This isn’t the same old story, with the Dems taking the popular vote and the Republicans carrying an electoral college majority - h

My first article as a lobsterman (also known as a harvester) was pessimistically named ‘The Impending Fiasco of the Paris Olympics’. A laughable title, you might now argue, and I would agree. I was wrong: Paris did not succumb to stereotypes of manic disorganisation and surprise protests – rather, it is unanimously acknowledged that these Games were a twinned success for France and for the future of the Olympics. Yet the French enjoy a little controversy, and so I must obli

I. The coronavirus pandemic may have forced virtually all aspects of life to wilt, but there can be no doubt that it fostered a considerable boom in creativity as boredly philosophising souls turned to pen, paper, brush, and canvas. One of the most impressive projects that arose from the artistically fertile soils of lockdown is set to take to the skies in 2025 with two complete Ring Cycles brought into fruition by Regents Opera. In 2020, British conducto

Foreword, 25.10.2024 May the 9th 2024, The Upper Mound Stand, Lord’s “This is my son William; he opens the bowling for the Authentics and has made the occasional appearance for the blues.” my father said, introducing me to Mark Nicolas, president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) for 2024. “A pleasure.” I confirmed, before taking a seat amidst cricket’s great and good to take in the annual Varsity Match. Talk swiftly moved to the ever-prevalent question of whether th

Our newly elected Labour government continues to be a tale of two feelings - happiness in what we have, and sadness in what could have been. With the recent European Political Community meeting, held at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Keir Starmer’s message of ‘resetting’ our relationship with the European Union couldn’t have had a better start. In fact, with the pictures of Britain’s Starmer and France’s Macron strolling around tranquil gardens, you’d be excused to think the

Joe Biden has had a tough few weeks, so it feels only fair to give a little attention to his strengths – although we do acknowledge that the Lobster ’s observations will not give the Democrats the boost they need. Nevertheless, his policies regarding cyber security in particular merit examination. The president has been hard at work combatting the encroachment of TikTok, as he signed a bill in April which could ban it from the country after 2025. The reason behind this radi

The Labour election campaign was pretty perfect. From day one, the Conservatives fumbled from one disaster to another - rain on arrival, D-Day botched, the betting scandal - whilst Labour managed a steady, focused campaign. The Conservatives were just kicked when they were down. However, to some, the one area which seemed to shake Labour was Gaza. Before the campaign, when then-Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer failed to call for a ceasefire in the region, Labour’s standi

How the media is helping frame Donald Trump as a stone-cold survivor. Back in 2020, while serving as President, Donald Trump contracted COVID-19. When he returned to the White House, the BBC reported on his recovery. This is the scenario: an elderly, affluent man contracts a virus that has been fatal for many yet recovers. He subsequently claims immunity while speaking to the American public: 'As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s a danger to it, but I had to do it

Spoiler Warning: ‘The Bear’ Christopher Storer’s masterpiece, The Bear, has released its most anticipated third season, but the ten episodes served to us fall short of their predecessors. Following the employees of newly opened restaurant ‘The Bear’, we watch as Carmy begins to butt-heads with Sydney and Richie over the direction of the restaurant. The pace is slower, but instead of continuing season 2’s tight focus, season 3 becomes somewhat disjointed and unsatisfactory. H