Life
Low life
I sat down at the metal table on the shaded terrace to write a column. In front, ripening vines receding…
Definitions
What is a bee? ‘A well-known insect,’ says the Oxford English Dictionary, passing the buck rather. Similarly, an ash is…
Real life
Market day in Bergerac and the streets are paved with chicken bones. As a spaniel, I am bound to say…
Way off track
What’s going on with athletics? Do you know anything that’s happened in the sport this year? Has a sport ever…
The best way to bring back grammar schools
Could grammar schools be about to make a comeback? That Theresa May went to one, and that the number of…
The best way to bring back grammar schools
Could grammar schools be about to make a comeback? That Theresa May went to one, and that the number of…
The Brexit effect
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Theresa May’s arrival at No. 10 is that it has given us back a…
The Brexit effect
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Theresa May’s arrival at No. 10 is that it has given us back a…
Bridge
Summer finally appeared like magic on Saturday, 16 July. Did I fire up the barbie? Did I relax with a…
To 2266: 587
Associations with adjectives are ALL RIGHT (16), BRIGHT LIGHTS (40), BEAUTIFUL DREAMER (31), GREAT DANE (42), and SMALL BEER (4). The…
Real life
Bonjour mes amis! Cydney spaniel ici, en France! Well, the Eurotunnel was very nice, although the dog departure lounge could…
Dear Mary
Q. My wife and I are enthusiastic dancers so when we heard that people we know through mutual friends were…
High life
The Spectator readers’ party was as always a swell affair, with long-time subscribers politely mingling with ne’er-do-wells like myself, the…
Wild life
Gilgil, Kenya At our Gilgil hut in the Rift Valley I’ve had a new flower garden planted to welcome…
Frightfest
In Competition No. 2956 you were invited to provide extracts from the unappealing-sounding programme of a festival that is making…
The Battle for Britain
The post The Battle for Britain appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment…
Gig economy
In the same song where the brilliant lyricist Ian Dury gave the world the couplet, ‘I could be a writer…
No. 417
White to play. This position is from Staunton-Horwitz, London (Game 3) 1846. How did White conclude his attack? Answers to…
Low life
One moment Trev and I were grooving on the dancefloor, Trev with his head bowed, his eyes closed, and his…
Long life
When you are recovering from a stroke, you spend much of the time asleep. But when you are not sleeping,…
Bridge
I’ve never had the courage to ‘psyche’ at the bridge table, but I grudgingly admire those who do. Sally Brock…
Electric shock
To mark the UK’s decision to exit from the EU, I can think of no better example than the triple match…
2269: Humiliation
Answers to clues in italics are to be subjected, before entry in the grid, to the treatment indicated by one…
The truth about ‘post-truth politics’
The departure of Andrea Leadsom from the Conservative leadership race was a blow to pundits who claim we’re living in…
From Hegel to Riesling
John Stuart Mill did not describe the Conservatives as the stupid party. He merely said that although not all Tories…
