Life
The Battle for Britain
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The consequences of the new EU car speed limit
A once famous question posed to job-seekers at Microsoft was ‘Why are manhole covers round?’ The question was revealing not…
Dear Mary: how can I make my timid husband ask for a longer haircut?
Q. We sent out email invitations to our drinks party and have had too many acceptances. The venue has said…
Independence for Dorset? I’ll raise a glass to that
There was a shrewd old Tory MP called John Stokes. He was not on the left of the party. Indeed,…
‘Augury’ is to do with birds? That’s a flight of fancy
Was the cascade of water that made the Commons suspend its sitting an omen or augury? When I asked that…
Mortimer Sackler and me
New York It was 51 years ago, in the Hôtel du Cap d’Antibes, that I first met the man…
Am I about to be usurped by Philippe, our handsome French gardner?
We have a gardener, Philippe, who comes once a week. He lives in a ruin a little way down the…
The builder boyfriend and I have left the EU – and it’s great
After all that waiting and arguing, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed leaving the EU. The builder boyfriend and I…
My time in Somalia with Michael Meacher, Tony Benn’s ‘vicar on earth’
East Africa The late Michael Meacher represented almost everything I loathe in a politician. Before his death in 2015,…
Bridge
Each March, a roll call of bridge superstars come to compete in the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, one of America’s most…
Advance planning
One way to improve your results is to develop a specific opening repertoire and learn it thoroughly so as to…
no. 548
White to play. This position is a variation from Mamedyarov-Li Reufeng, PRO League 2017. This game also started with White…
Spring villanelle
In Competition No. 3092 you were invited to submit a spring villanelle. The villanelle lends itself to themes of loss…
2402: Test pilots
Eight unclued entries are of a kind. A 9-letter word for their position must be highlighted in the grid. …
to 2399: Lines of Work
The unclued lights form the folk rhyme ‘Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief’. A.A. Milne (MILNE…
Now – as in the Soviet Union – making a joke can be a dangerous, life-changing mistake
I was surprised to learn that the novelist Milan Kundera celebrated his 90th birthday on Monday. I had no idea…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Have referees just given up?
Sometimes you fear for Neil Warnock. The embattled Cardiff manager is 70 and operates at level 11 all the time;…
Dear Mary: how can I stop my husband from hijacking my punchlines?
Q. A woman I’ve known for years is getting divorced and rings me every day to talk about it. I…
The joy of garlic and easy listening: Pucci in Mayfair reviewed
I grew up in south-west London in the 1970s when Italian restaurants had exposed brick walls and paper tablecloths in…
‘Shame’ is no longer one’s greatest fear, it’s offence culture’s default response
In 1663, just before Samuel Pepys visited the stables of the elegant Thomas Povey, where he found the walls were…
My prescription to make New York happy again
New York This place feels funny, a bit like Beirut, where Christians, Jews, Muslims, Druze and encamped Palestinians live…
I’m making a cave disco in the south of France
I’ve swapped my carer’s tray in Devon for a barrow and spade halfway up a cliff in the south of…
You should train your man like you train your Labrador
‘This clean sock regime is really annoying,’ said the builder boyfriend, as he rummaged through his newly inaugurated top drawer.…
Will horse welfare become racing’s Brexit?
As jockeys, trainers, punters and media folk gathered at Newbury on Saturday to say farewell to Noel Fehily, the ultimate…
