Life
Your problems solved
Q. As a writer I find working at home too distracting. I am a longstanding member of the London Library…
Spawn of the devil
There are those who claim that this column is idiosyncratic. They have seen nothing yet. I am about to mention…
High life
If any of you sees Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, walking around with a begging bowl in his…
Long life
It’s more than four months now since my 75th birthday, but I’m still waiting for a ‘cold call’ from the…
Long life
It’s more than four months now since my 75th birthday, but I’m still waiting for a ‘cold call’ from the…
Low life
The old fishing town faced the sea psychically as well as architecturally. Dressed as pirates, my grandson and I walked…
Low life
The old fishing town faced the sea psychically as well as architecturally. Dressed as pirates, my grandson and I walked…
Charlotte
It could have been much worse. Someone had pointed out that among the new baby’s ancestors was Queen Violant of…
Is satire a dying art?
I appeared on Radio 4 a couple of weeks ago to discuss the age-old question of whether political satire is…
Is satire a dying art?
I appeared on Radio 4 a couple of weeks ago to discuss the age-old question of whether political satire is…
Why estate agents aren’t dying out
I don’t like to make business predictions, but — barring some apocalypse — I suspect there will be plenty of…
RIP, Time magazine
Talk about how the mighty have fallen. Time magazine was for the better part of the 20th century the model…
A fingertip symphony in a deeply rural French ladies’ hairdresser
Two stylists work at this deeply rural French ladies’ hairdresser. Christelle is a gorgeous 17-year-old point-of-lay pullet, so lithe and…
Why I'd never own a rabbit hutch – or vote Green
‘I suppose,’ said my dad philosophically, ‘I could always vote Green.’ ‘Oh, for goodness sake! Not you as well!’ I…
The fraught business of seat surrender
I remember the first time that someone stood up and offered me a seat on the London Underground. It was…
Farewell to the iron man, Tony McCoy
At Sandown Park last Saturday an era ended. Twenty thousand of us turned up to cheer on Tony McCoy as…
Bridge
When I first started playing bridge, about 15 years ago, I ‘trained’ at TGR’s rubber bridge club, which was located…
Nigel’s controversy
British chess grandmaster Nigel Short has form when it comes to provocative statements. When competing in a tournament in France…
No. 360
Black to play. This is from Short-Polgar, Madrid 1995. Judit Polgar is the strongest female -player ever, with an overwhelming…
Eating poetry
In Competition No. 2895 you were invited to submit a poem describing a meal with a well-known poet. Sylvia Fairley…
2209: Safe-blowers
The unclued lights (two of two words) are to be linked with one of the clued lights in translation. All…
To 2206
The thematic unclued lights (4D, 20D, 34D, 40A and 41A+27A) are COUNTRIES, and the other unclued lights are their anagrams,…
My Brasenose college reunion was great (even if David Cameron didn’t turn up)
A couple of weeks ago I returned to my old Oxford college for a ‘gaudy’ — posh, Oxford-speak for a…
Battle for Britain
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Next time, David Cameron should pretend to support Bournemouth
Here’s an election-winning idea for Dave: forget about Aston Villa (or West Ham) and become a full-on Bournemouth fan. They…
