Life
High life
Serena Williams, according to some commentators the greatest woman who has ever graced this earth of ours, will complete the…
Long life
I remember Sidney Blumenthal from my time in Washington in the late 1980s when I was there as the first…
Long life
I remember Sidney Blumenthal from my time in Washington in the late 1980s when I was there as the first…
Low life
There is something repulsive about the sea, especially when seen from the altitude of the upper decks of a monstrous…
Low life
There is something repulsive about the sea, especially when seen from the altitude of the upper decks of a monstrous…
Credible
In a wonderfully dry manual of theology on my husband’s bookshelves, written in Latin and printed in Naples in the…
Real life
Exciting news. We might be expecting. I say might because I haven’t done a pregnancy test yet. I thought about…
My own modest proposal: designer babies for the poor
I’ve just written an essay for Quadrant, an Australian periodical, in which I propose a controversial solution to the problem…
My own modest proposal: designer babies for the poor
I’ve just written an essay for Quadrant, an Australian periodical, in which I propose a controversial solution to the problem…
Eugenics for your email
You won’t read much about Sir Francis Galton nowadays because, while it’s inarguable that the man was a giant in…
Bridge
The bridge world continues to be electrified by the scandal that Janet wrote about last week. Lotan Fisher and Ron…
Before cruises there were crossings – the good old days!
On board MS Queen Victoria They remain engraved on my brain, like something out of a Greek tragedy, so…
Taki's table talk and my fears about the Spectator cruise
Last Saturday afternoon, in Venice, 31 Spectator readers, plus Martin Vander Weyer, the great Taki and I came aboard the…
Hell is dealing with police bureaucracy
‘Yes, you can report it, but it’s going to take ten minutes to go through the process,’ said the oppressively…
I lived next to St Paul’s Cathedral as a baby in 1940 – it’s a miracle I am alive
While the Germans were raining bombs on London during the second world war, the architects’ department of London County Council…
Mrs Oakley has finally seen the light about racing
Heaven be praised for the sinner who repenteth, however long it takes. For President George Bush Senior, his occasional meetings…
Bridge
No doubt you have heard about the huge cheating storm that has blown up over the last 10 days. Here…
Bête noire
England’s top grandmaster, Michael Adams, exerts a powerful influence over the elite player David Navara. In rating terms Navara and…
No. 377
Black to play. This position is a variation from Maslak-Smerdon, Pardubice 2007. Black has powered through on the kingside. How…
Back to school
In Competition No. 2913 you were invited to submit an extract from the school report of a well-known author, living or…
2227: Word building
The unclued lights (one of two words and another hyphened) can be arranged to form a word pyramid of 3…
To 2224: All here
The unclued lights (paired at 14/38. 23/17 and 34/2) are SPECTATOR journalists or contributors. First prize Dr David Jerwood, Keighley,…
My wife and I have become Mr and Mrs Twit
This is a cautionary tale for any young couples out there thinking of tying the knot. Be wary of what…
Battle for Britain
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A World Championships that puts Sebastian Coe on the right track
Sebastian Coe’s new job as head of world athletics will be a heck of a lot easier thanks to the…
