Life
Are the builder boyfriend and I falling apart?
After the landowner told us to be out in three weeks, then admitted we had three months to move our…
I was the next Truman Capote
It’s nice to be back in London, and Glebe Place is a delight. Mind you, it’s not the mansion I…
Aussie Life
When maverick ex-New York Times reporter Alex Berenson said that the Covid-19 jabs didn’t stop infection or transmission, and were…
Aussie Language
When Extinction Rebellion vandalised Parliament House they were engaging in ‘stuntism’— a word that was coined by Mark Latham. When…
No. 671
White to play. Gaprindashvili–Servaty, Dortmund 1974. The dark squares around Black’s king are critically weak, and White found an accurate…
2521: Leading question - solution
The question was ‘What is THE THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY(-)NINTH PRIME NUMBER’ (7A/10/22/40/16/31/32/28)? The answer is 2521, the number of…
Spectator competition winners: Bridget Jones’s Bible
In Competition No. 3216, you were invited to retell a well-known biblical story in a secular style that would enhance…
Detecting vulnerabilities
I suspect many players perceive the chess board in rich contrast, like a heat map. Glowing bright red are those…
2524: Spelean II
Clockwise round the grid from 20 runs a quotation minus one word (1,2,4,4,4,1,4,1,5,4,4,9) followed by an honest servant’s name. Unclued…
Why do ministers – and bakers – love a rollout?
I was rolling out some pastry that had been cooling its pudgy heels in the fridge when voices on the…
I rather enjoy my chemotherapy sessions
With a French health card everything is free for us cancer patients, even taxis to and from the hospital. ‘This…
Dining in nowhere: Bar des Prés reviewed
The residents of Mayfair are misnamed: they do not really live here. They live in Mayfair like I live on…
The other winner of Emma Raducanu’s stunning victory
Not many people would have seen that coming. I’m talking of course of last Saturday evening and the women’s final…
I loved prison
Memories for me are like beautifully edited copy: all cleaned up and retaining only the good parts. The wife tells…
The Battle for Britain | 18 September 2021
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My Arc de Triomphe tips
The emphasis may all be on speed horses these days, with breeders interested only in horses that struggle to get…
Dear Mary: how can I improve a friend’s appalling table manners?
Q. I recently attended a wedding which was (for me) quite ‘grand’, with a church ceremony followed by a reception.…
Bridge | 18 September 2021
‘Table presence’ is a funny old expression in bridge. You might think it means what it would in any other…
Has Boris Johnson given up on free schools?
For the founders of the West London Free School, of which I was one, last Thursday should have been a…
Our East Sussex house-hunting nightmare
The two-acre smallholding lived up to its name in being very, very small indeed. We had to squeeze around the…
Aussie Life
Do fish have feelings? And if they do, does anybody care? RSPCA Australia’s willingness to lease their logo to salmon…
Aussie Language
The New York Times has chosen a word to describe what happens to people under Covid restrictions: ‘languishing’. Under lockdown…
The Battle for Britain | 11 September 2021
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The economic case for flexible working
Is flexible working better or worse for productivity? What is the correct blend of remote and office work? Billions of…
A tale of refugees from ‘Brexit Britain’
In the New Year I was introduced to a couple who had fled Britain impulsively on New Year’s Eve with…
