Life
I have moved into a house in Ireland I viewed once, then bought
With families chatting in the seats around me, a young girl knitting across the aisle, I gripped the arm rests.…
How not to talk to builders
It’s week eight of the installation of a cheap Ikea kitchen in my flat, and an Albanian builder is slumped…
Kiwi life
Elections are always hard fought. But for most New Zealanders to be so desperate to throw out Jacinda Ardern’s original…
Language
The weather bureau tells us that we are now officially in an ‘El Niño event’ and, as a result we…
Brits are complex and prickly – I’m excited to get to Ireland
‘We’re in the living room with a roaring fire, there’s not a sound for miles, it’s wonderful,’ said the builder…
The death of royalty
The cohorts of Hamas have invaded my neighbourhood. I was walking my dog, Maxi, in the afterglow of a shower…
‘They do better spaghetti bolognese in Hampstead for a tenner’: The Lobby at The Peninsula, reviewed
The Peninsula is a new hotel at Hyde Park Corner. It is part of the trend for absurd expense: rooms…
It’s a blessing that England didn’t make the rugby World Cup final
In the days when Spitting Image was funny it featured a song called ‘I’ve Never Met A Nice South African’.…
Dark, bold and perfect for autumn: how to make the perfect honey cake
I did not plan to cook a loaf cake when I embarked on concocting a traditional honey cake recipe. The…
Why I don’t trust the BBC’s Trusted News Initiative
You almost certainly haven’t heard of the Trusted News Initiative (TNI), although you probably should have. It’s a BBC-led consortium…
Aussie life
Timing matters just as much in tragedy as it does in comedy. And it is important to remember that the…
Language
The word ‘special’ means: ‘Exceptional in quality or degree; unusual; out of the ordinary; excelling in some way’ (Oxford English…
