Eurofile

With Briton Dave Ryding going for gold in Beijing, now's the perfect time to celebrate the 44 years of a BBC institution

The anticipated crash of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is humankind’s first act of celestial littering, says WILL SELF

CHARLIE CONNELLY on the Viennese artist who shocked the laissez-faire populace of his native city

PETER TRUDGILL on how people with no common native language once communicated, and how that gave birth to the secret slang Polari

Given we’re still in the depths of winter pie is the keenest way to mark the end of Veganuary, says JOSH BARRIE

Long deemed "unmanageable", Mario Balotelli might be the man to rescue Italy's World Cup qualification

How the story of a plane full of doppelgängers became a literary sensation in France. By CHARLIE CONNELLY

The Downton Abbey actress shows Gardner, rather than keeps telling us about her, writes TIM WALKER

Alistair McDowall's production is just incomprehensible, writes TIM WALKER

A new documentary reveals the brutality of the Home Office’s Hostile Environment Policy and shows how Britain is no longer a refuge. By JASON SOLOMONS

One of Poland's most fascinating contemporary figures, Darski is leading the charge against the country's restrictive blasphemy laws

As Gordon Ramsay recreates his ground-breaking Savoy Hotel restaurant, SOPHIA DEBOICK savours the life of Auguste Escoffier

The traditionalists who decry the vandalisation of history actually have very little real appetite for that history, says WILL SELF

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a Jewish actress who considered a kick in the behind from Hitler the luck of her life

PETER TRUDGILL examines the origins of words about who governs us, and finds the oligarchy has been around longer than you’d think

A stage adaptation of Pierre La Mure's novel lacks wit and intelligence, writes TIM WALKER.

ROB HUGHES on the potential return of Christian Eriksen, eight months after his heart stopped suddenly on the pitch

Advice for authors is rarely as honest and valuable as in a posthumous book by a great Polish poet. By CHARLIE CONNELLY

Lawyer Joe Tacopina has represented the great and the not-so-good. But what’s he doing as the owner of a club in Italy’s Serie B? By RYAN HERMAN

Few other vegetarian dishes provide such comfort on a winter’s day as this one, says JOSH BARRIE

Costume drama star Romola Garai gets her revenge on anyone who makes assumptions about her by making a grisly horror. By JASON SOLOMONS

A new album sees a Georgian pioneer reunite with band members from a formative period of his career

An exhibition of fashion photography on A Coruña’s industrial dockside is a gift to the city. By FLORENCE HALLETT

At 75 minutes, this is a relatively short play. Nonetheless, you still find yourself asking “Is there much more of this?” writes TIM WALKER.

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a stick-up merchant whose victims were often left feeling almost flattered

PETER TRUDGILL on why cities have different names... and how using one or the other doesn’t necessarily identify you as a vile colonialist.

Potato bread acts as a gentle mattress for avocado, writes JOSH BARRIE

Two of the leading lights behind the failed European Super League bid have since gone in very different directions

Remembering Nellie Bly, the pioneering journalist who eclipsed Jules Verne’s hero. By CHARLIE CONNELLY

This play based on a 2014 film feels like unnecessary and somewhat frivolous theatre, says TIM WALKER

Goodnight Louisa's album Human Danger shows how time spent in an alien landscape can provoke the deepest personal reflections

Images of China’s relentless acceleration are both beautiful and troubling