Life
High life
Athens I am walking around downtown Athens watching as thousands of migrants field pitches from smugglers offering alternative routes…
Long life
I used to enjoy the ghost stories of M.R. James, but I’ve never actually seen a ghost or even believed…
Long life
I used to enjoy the ghost stories of M.R. James, but I’ve never actually seen a ghost or even believed…
Low life
Nice airport was more or less deserted. Two-and-a-half hours early for the easyJet flight to Gatwick, I had a leisurely…
Low life
Nice airport was more or less deserted. Two-and-a-half hours early for the easyJet flight to Gatwick, I had a leisurely…
Swastika
There is a nice row of swastikas at head height in Burlington Gardens, behind the Royal Academy. They are carved…
Real life
‘Racing is 99.9 per cent disappointment,’ said the trainer philosophically, as I sat in the yard sipping coffee, waiting for…
A new taste of Twitter nastiness
Whenever I hear a leftie complain about being abused on Twitter, I think: ‘You should try being me.’ A case…
A new taste of Twitter nastiness
Whenever I hear a leftie complain about being abused on Twitter, I think: ‘You should try being me.’ A case…
What’s the point of the driverless car?
A first last week: a Google driverless car in autonomous mode was partly at fault in a collision, interestingly one…
Bridge
Unless you’re an expert, it often pays to keep quiet at the bridge table — something I really ought to…
Who is more undemocratic, Putin or Brussel? I say Brussels — by far
The rich are under attack nowadays, never more so than in America, where The Donald continues to trump his critics,…
A gastronomic moron’s view of a legendary French brasserie
Before we left for Sunday lunch at the Les Deux Garçons restaurant, Aix-en-Provence, I checked the reviews on Tripadvisor. I’m…
Five little words that signify catastrophe
Darcy trod on a screw. Five little words which, if Darcy was anything other than a thoroughbred horse, might signify…
Reading the Mirror’s new newspaper makes me want to throw myself on a bonfire
On Monday I went to the newsagent to buy the newspapers and picked up the first issue of a new…
The second-best jump jockey ever finally gets to finish first
Richard Johnson, possibly the nicest man to occupy a saddle and certainly the most modest, once said of his Irish…
Bridge
So many tournaments — so little space. Last week saw two of the very best London has to offer: Terry…
Varsity match
On Saturday 5 March the 134th Varsity Match between the teams from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge takes place…
No. 398
Black to play. This position is from Scibior-Chiu, Varsity Match 2013. Black now powered through into the white position. What…
For their eyes only
In Competition No. 2937 you were invited to submit extracts from the diaries of the famous that their writers did…
2250: Knavish
The unclued lights (one of two words, and one of three) when preceded by the same word (which has to…
Crossword solution 2247: Commoners II
The unclued lights are some of the Wombles of Wimbledon COMMON, paired at 25/21, 31/16 and 35/10. First prize Belinda…
No, my socialist dad would NOT be spinning in his grave
On Tuesday night I went to a birthday party for my father at the House of Commons. Hosted by the…
Battle for Britain
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Two big hitters leave the crease: Brendon McCullum and Hugh McIlvanney
Two great men have just bowed out from their chosen trades and it is bloody sad. The New Zealand cricket…
