Life
Dear Mary
Q. Most of my friends have small children and being mostly media types in west London, have given them silly…
A vintage that tastes of Old Possum
Eliot. After 50 years trying to make sense of his verse, and at the risk of admitting to rampant philistinism,…
High life
A lousy fortnight if ever there was one. Two great friends, Lord Belhaven and Stenton and Aleko Goulandris, had their…
Low life
In Spain, I stayed in youth hostels in Barcelona, Alicante, Almeria and Seville. But that first hostel in Barcelona, where…
Low life
In Spain, I stayed in youth hostels in Barcelona, Alicante, Almeria and Seville. But that first hostel in Barcelona, where…
Kippah
What, asks the columnist Philologus in the online magazine Mosaic, is the difference between a kippah and a yarmulke? I’m…
Real life
If it takes any longer to find a buyer for my London flat I am going to start coming to…
Victory in sight for the free schools revolution
I’m not surprised the Chancellor allocated more money for the free schools policy in the Budget. It’s not an exaggeration…
Victory in sight for the free schools revolution
I’m not surprised the Chancellor allocated more money for the free schools policy in the Budget. It’s not an exaggeration…
Technology and the winner-takes-all effect
I was exchanging emails with someone the other day and signed off with the sentence ‘let me know when you…
Wild life
Laikipia On Tristan Voorspuy’s hell-for-leather riding safaris across Kenya’s savannah, he cracked a bullwhip at predators that tried to eat…
Bridge
There are plenty of bridge professionals who believe in flattering lesser players (whether they’re clients, friends or spouses) by exaggerating…
The turf
When the generals have lost heart and crept away from the battlefield it is hard for the ground troops to…
Bridge
February is probably the most exciting and glamorous month in the bridge calendar. A couple of weeks ago, über-sponsor Pierre…
The Battle for Britain
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Mr Hundred Per Cent
Nigel Short has distinguished himself by scoring 100 per cent, winning all six games, in the Bunratty tournament which finished…
no. 446
White to play. This position is from Tabatabaei-Vakhidov, Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2017. White has sacrificed a piece for a powerful…
The art of loving
In Competition No. 2987 you were invited to supply a lesson in the art of seduction in the style of…
2299: Pieces of Eight
One unclued light is the origin of the remaining unclued lights (three of two words), individually or as a pair.…
to 2296: Men of note
The unclued lights are seven COMPOSERS whose surnames begin with A to G, along with the eighth beginning with H,…
Dear Mary
My partner has become a recycling fascist. She checks everything I put into the bin. I received two bollockings today alone…
Rich desserts
Ferdi is a café in Shepherd Market; I write about it only to comfort you, because you are not rich,…
High life
Gstaad Back in the good old days a funicular used to take skiers up, bucking all the way and stopping…
Low life
All told, I find that in the last week I’ve slept with a Chinaman, three black women from the United…
Pick
I have long pondered the motive with which Michael Wharton, for long the author of the Daily Telegraph’s Peter Simple…
