Life
Bridge
Many top-class bridge players enjoy flirting with poker, making it their bit on the side. I can certainly see the…
The Battle for Britain
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Edgehogs
Last week, commenting on Nigel Davies’s new book The Pirc Move by Move (Everyman Chess), I wrote about my win…
No. 412
Black to play. This is from Arnason-Keene, London 1981. How did Black bring his bishops to life? Answers to me…
Minus one
In Competition No. 2951 you were invited to remove a letter from a well-known book title and submit an extract…
Your problems solved
Q. When going out to dinner I’ve found some people will send everyone a list of the other guests so…
Un-Italian job
I have been waiting, like a heroine in fiction, for the specialist lasagne restaurant. London has long been heading this…
High life
Shelter Island is nestled in the Long Island Sound, ten minutes by ferry from Sag Harbor and a good 30…
Long life
I’m back in England after travelling from Italy by railway, because I have been forbidden to fly in case the…
Long life
I’m back in England after travelling from Italy by railway, because I have been forbidden to fly in case the…
Low life
Showered and shaved and wearing a stiff new Paul Smith candy-stripe shirt, I took an Uber to the party. I…
Low life
Showered and shaved and wearing a stiff new Paul Smith candy-stripe shirt, I took an Uber to the party. I…
How’s your father
‘Very funny, I don’t think,’ said my husband when I mentioned Harry Tate, although Tate died in 1940 and even…
Real life
Would you like a Labour party manifesto with your breakfast?’ the tattooed, multi-pierced waitress might as well have asked as…
The pain of being second-best
The boys at Radio 5, bless ’em, are now including the EU referendum as part of their sports trailers. As…
Confessions of an England fan
Listen http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/268140526-the-spectator-podcast-brexit-strategy-what-would-the.mp3 If you’re a proper football supporter, getting excited about England on the eve of a major tournament is…
Confessions of an England fan
Listen http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/268140526-the-spectator-podcast-brexit-strategy-what-would-the.mp3 If you’re a proper football supporter, getting excited about England on the eve of a major tournament is…
Girl power
How much strength do you need to win a horse race? Do women have enough? And if they don’t should…
Girl power
How much strength do you need to win a horse race? Do women have enough? And if they don’t should…
Bridge
Many top-class bridge players enjoy flirting with poker, making it their bit on the side. I can certainly see the…
Why I won’t be watching Wimbledon
Write about things you really know was the advice Papa Hemingway offered wannabe writers, so here goes: the French Open…
Zopiclone: drug of choice for monkeys and the French
Hours before boarding the cross-Channel car ferry, I received a text message from the company warning of severe fuel shortages…
The grass may have been tasty but it landed me in A&E
Turns out you can’t eat grass. A horse does something clever to it in its mouth that humans can’t. Fine,…
The first real gaffe of the EU referendum? It’s from Charles Moore
It was a famous American editor and columnist Michael Kinsley who once defined the political ‘gaffe’ as something that occurs…
Bridge
The Hubert Phillips Bowl is one of my favourite tournaments of the year: a friendly, knockout event with a rather…
