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Zebras, lobsters, lions and Ronald Reagan's baby elephant: The strangest pets in history
These days nobody would dream of keeping a wild animal as a pet, but there was a time, not so long ago, when a gentleman could stroll into Harrods and buy an elephant or an alligator. Jonathan Self explores the era of the exotic menagerie.
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Jonathan Self: 'one has more chance of discovering Atlantis, the Holy Grail or Lord Lucan in the local high street than getting one’s hands on a decent magazine'
He's not talking about Country Life, of course. We're great.
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The rest is photographs
An afternoon spent going through dusty old albums puts our columnist Jonathan Self in contemplative mood.
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'Water was coming in through the roof, the windows and the stone walls. It caused mushrooms to grow in the bedrooms, and sizeable bits of the ceiling to detach themselves without notice'
Water, water everywhere for Jonathan Self — especially in the places where you'd least want to have it.
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Jonathan Self: Gossip, atheists, and the cheating husband caught on his own CCTV cameras
Heard it on the grapevine? Then you're simply making use of one of your great evolutionary advantages, says Jonathan Self.
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Jonathan Self: Real friendship survives separation, violently different opinions and surprisingly shabby behaviour'
The reopening of a much-loved restaurant is, says Jonathan Self, like a joyous reunion with an old friend.
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Jonathan Self: These are a few of my favourite things (audio version)
Forget bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens — Jonathan Self loves the sound of a burning log shifting in the stove and a tractor misfiring on its way up the lane.
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Jonathan Self: The peasants are anything but revolting
The people who worked the patchwork farms of Ireland until just a few decades ago are all but gone, laments Jonathan Self.
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Jonathan Self: Work-life balance is tosh. Coleridge knew it, and so do I.
As his children enter the world of work, Jonathan Self muses on what that means
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Curious Questions: How do you make the perfect slice of toast?
Jonathan Self is toast-mad. His entire family is toast-mad. He's spent his life looking for the ultimate way of making the nation's favourite snack. Here's what he suggests you do.
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Jonathan Self: The lost art of hitch-hiking
A first encounter in decades with somebody hitching a ride prompts our columnist to look back on the days when hitch-hiking was entirely normal — and an incomparable way to get from A to Wherever.
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Jonathan Self: The crisp sandwiches so good they were delicious even with a light coating of sand
A spell of time with a reduced sense of taste and smell proves a boon to Jonathan Self when it clears, giving him a new appreciation of some of life's joys.
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Jonathan Self: The rat who came to lunch in a fetching shade of Farrow & Ball
Jonathan Self tells the story of a rather friendly rodent who seems happy to ride his luck.
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Jonathan Self: After 44 years and seven attempts, I am finally starting to get the hang of this parenting business
Jonathan Self has nailed it, just as his twins leave for university.
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Jonathan Self: My 146-year-old timepiece is the antithesis of the smartwatches — and it's all the better for it
How lovely to have a beautiful watch to order your life, says Jonathan Self; but how much better to have no need of one at all.
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Jonathan Self: What I learned from the last garden hermit in Britain
Our columnist's rare time to himself causes him to reflect on his encounter with a man who had nothing but himself for company for years on end.
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Jonathan Self: How do mosquitoes know when it's Easter?
The arrival of warmer weather heralds many joys — but also one very specific pain, as Jonathan Self grumbles.
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Jonathan Self: 'Everyone deserves to engage with Nature, but enough is enough'
Jonathan Self muses on birds with bad sense of direction, militant ramblers and the plight of a camel-herding nomad.
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Jonathan Self: What can you do with dogs? Their yea is yea and their nay, especially in lashing rain, is nay
It's raining, and Jonathan Self is outside waiting patiently for his dogs to do their business.
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'Of all the countries in the world, Ireland is the country for ruins'
Jonathan Self muses on the abandoned, forgotten and mislaid objects which dot his surrounds.
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'By the time I reached chapter seven I was nauseated by the sheer volume of stuff I owned'
Jonathan Self's chance encounter with a book shifts the way he sees his belongings... but how long will his urge to declutter last?
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Jonathan Self: 'Ten yards from shore, I felt completely and utterly alone, the last man on earth'
A wintry dip in the ocean revitalises Jonathan Self.
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"Hippocrates's advice — 'if you're in a bad mood, go for a walk' — would have me constantly perambulating"
Jonathan Self on the End of the World, ancient battlegrounds and friendly pigs.
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Jonathan Self: 'Nothing manmade — not even the greatest works of art — can match the beauty of the countryside'
After months spent in Florence, a return to Ireland brings a tear to the eye of our columnist.
