The Times Magazine - July 4, 2026 - “I Had That Bob Mortimer in the Back of My Garden”

Aug 7, 2026

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A July 4, 2026 issue of The Times Magazine centered on imaginative political speculation and social commentary. The cover story follows Caitlin Moran and A-list friends as gardening inspiration becomes a podcast collaboration with Gardeners’ World’s Adam Frost and Bob Mortimer. Additional features include Helen Skelton’s reflections, debates around wealth taxation, an OnlyFans success story, summer recipe recommendations, assisted dying discussion, defence strategy guidance, and a home-and-hospitality profile of an 18th-century villa.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages60

Reading Time1 h 32 min

AccessFree to download

Cover story: Going wild with Caitlin and friends

Gardening podcast collaboration

Ben Machell: My fantasy front bench

Fantasy cabinet and cabinet personalities

Helen Skelton: Surviving Strictly and finding her mojo

Wealth tax debate: “We need a wealth tax – on people like me”

Lucy Blanc: I made £250,000 on OnlyFans

Eat!: Summer recipes selection

The woman who chose to die

Tobias Ellwood: How to avoid World War Three

Home!: Turning an 18th-century villa into a hotel for friends

Giles Coren review: Chez Moi, Bognor Regis

Beta male: No air conditioning? Not me.

04.07.26 I HAD THAT BOB MORTIMER IN THE BACK OF MY GARDEN Why Caitlin Moran and herA-list friends are going wild COVER: TOM JACKSON . THIS PAGE: DAN KENNEDY. BRA TOP, FREEPEOPLE .COM . SKIRT, EU.THEFRANKIESHOP.COM . SHOES, SCHUH .COM . NECKLACE, SEZANE .COM 04.07.26 16 5 Ben Machell My fantasy front bench. 9 What I’ve learnt How Emma Raducanu stays positive (despite the injuries). 10 Cover story Going wild with Caitlin and friends Our columnist has turned her passion for gardening into a podcast, with help from Gardeners’ World’s Adam Frost and friends like Bob Mortimer. 16 Helen Skelton The former Blue Peter presenter on surviving Strictly and finding her mojo, aged 42. 20 ‘We need a wealth tax – on people like me’ Economist Gary Stevenson made a fortune in the City. Now he wants the super-rich to pay more. 26 I made £250,000 on OnlyFans Unemployed and in debt, the privately educated Lucy Blanc set up an account on the porn site. 29 Eat! The food editor’s favourite summer recipes – by Delia Smith, Rick Stein, Sally Clarke and more. 36 The woman who chose to die Why did a 75-year-old retired British nurse decide on an assisted death in Switzerland – despite not being ill? 44 Tobias Ellwood How to avoid World War Three, by the former defence minister. 48 Home! The couple who turned their 18th-century villa into a hotel for friends. 52 Giles Coren reviews Chez Moi, Bognor Regis. 58 Beta male: Tom Peck No air conditioning? Not me. FAB FIVE: TABLE TENNIS TABLES SURE SHOT, £349.99 Has a wood-effect top and foldable legs ([johnlewis.com](johnlewis.com)) SOL 27 OUTDOOR, £ 83 A budget option and can be used in the garden ([wayfair.co.uk](wayfair.co.uk)) BUTTERFLY, £369.99 This foldable table has handy wheels ([decathlon.co.uk](decathlon.co.uk)) HY-PRO, £110 Water-resistant, so fine to use indoors and outdoors ([wayfair.co.uk](wayfair.co.uk)) CORNILLEAU, £1,825 Weather-resistant, with storage for rackets and balls ([uk.cornilleau.com](uk.cornilleau.com)) CHOSEN BY GEORGINA ROBERTS EDITOR NICOLA JEAL DEPUTY EDITOR LOUISE FRANCE ART DIRECTOR CHRIS HITCHCOCK ASSOCIATE EDITOR JANE MULKERRINS ASSISTANT EDITOR TONY TURNBULL FEATURES EDITOR MONIQUE RIVALLAND COMMISSIONING EDITOR GEORGINA ROBERTS CHIEF SUB-EDITOR CHRIS RILEY DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR PAUL REED DEPUTY CHIEF SUB-EDITOR KEVIN GRANT PICTURE EDITOR ANNA BASSETT DEPUTY PICTURE EDITOR LUCY DALEY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR BRIDGET HARRISON The Times Magazine 3 Princess Anne Home secretary Gareth Southgate Defence secretary MY FANTASY Kemi Badenoch Culture, media and sport Idris Elba Foreign secretary CABINET GETTY IMAGES, PA, ITV, ANDREW SIMS/TIMES MEDIA LTD Choosing a new front bench is like picking a football squad. Here’s Ben Machell’s ultimate dream team of Whitehall players T he best thing about the prospect of an incoming primeminister is that, much like the prospect of an incoming football manager, you can enjoy a brief period of speculation. What will be their tactical approach? Who will be their marquee signings? What will their preferred cabinet/starting 11 be? Will Shabana Mahmood be given licence to roam? Will David Lammy thrive in a double pivot alongside Bridget Phillipson, or should he be hugging the touchline and using his pace to attack wide areas? Will the new gaffer – which is to say, almost certainly Andy Burnham, above – go zonal or man for man? I may have started mixing my metaphors, but you get the point. It’s fun to imagine what you might do if put in the same position and given the same resources, idly sketching formations on office stationery while trying to remember how many “l”s there are in “Miliband”. But then, why limit your imagination? Just as the dirtiest pleasure in football fandom is fantasising about what your squad would look like if money were no object, what if the new PM’s cabinet could comprise… anyone? The people you reckon would do the best job for Britain, regardless

FAQs

What is the main cover story about in this issue?

The cover story explores Caitlin Moran and friends “going wild” through gardening inspiration, linked to a podcast collaboration with Adam Frost and Bob Mortimer.

What does Ben Machell’s feature propose?

It offers a playful “fantasy front bench,” treating selecting a cabinet like building a football squad.

What other major topics are featured besides politics and gardening?

The issue includes interviews and essays on surviving Strictly, wealth taxation for the super-rich, a personal account of OnlyFans earnings, summer recipes, assisted dying, defence strategy, and a hospitality transformation of an 18th-century villa.

Aug 7, 2026

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