Life
Aussie life
For most of China’s 1.4 billion population, 2024 has been the Year of the Dragon, which makes it, according to…
Language
I’ve been searching through the language used to describe the train wreck of a presidential debate between Joe Biden and…
Can a home really be forever?
Graham Norton’s latest novel ‘blends dark humour and emotional weight with ease’, says the Radio Times. That may well be,…
Dear Mary: can you leave a party without saying goodbye?
Q. Often at parties strangers bear down on me looking excited and are then offended when I don’t recognise them.…
The key to dealing with this election? Wine
An old friend phoned. Normally cheerful, he was fed up. One of his business partners was being more than usually…
How Elon Musk could solve the housing crisis
People sometimes ask me why I don’t go into politics. Why on earth would I do that? No, if you…
My nights with the eagle owls
Provence Summer has arrived. The evenings are warm enough to sit out on the balcony terrace and watch the lights…
The funny side of being cancelled
Douglas Is Cancelled, the new drama series on ITV, should come with a trigger warning – for me, anyway. Watching…
Nairobi’s streets are fizzing with violence – and I’m glad to be home
Nairobi, Kenya Parliament and City Hall were burning under great columns of smoke and clouds of tear gas hung over…
We’re serviceless, stateless – and still off grid
You need a personal public service number to get married in Ireland, but in order to get one, you need…
Kiwi life
New Zealand in crisis Given the destruction the previous Labour government inflicted on this country, and the damage caused by…
Language
How are you enjoying dealing with the bureaucrats who run our lives these days? (I heard your answer, and you…
Italians are beautiful – but not on this beach
When Pope Francis complained recently about too much frociaggine (faggotry) in the Catholic Church, he certainly struck a chord in…
Can politicians really pivot?
‘That’ll be the old pivot again,’ said Amol Rajan on Today last week. He was interviewing Pat McFadden, who is…
‘An uneasy place’: Chez Roux at The Langham reviewed
The Langham is a Victorian Gothic hotel opposite the BBC in Portland Place. It’s an odd place: haunted house near…
A memorable Royal Ascot
You tend to like a jockey who has just ridden you a 16-1 winner, as Callum Shepherd did last Saturday…
You shouldn’t be afraid of steak tartare
Whenever I think of steak tartare, I can’t help but remember a heartbreaking passage in Nigel Slater’s memoir Toast. Slater,…
