Life
Sturgeon doth protest too much, me thinks
I couldn’t believe it when Nicola Sturgeon called for the resignation of Alistair Carmichael, the former Scottish Secretary, over his…
Flat pack
Getting to Goodwood last Saturday was an achievement in itself. On the Bank Holiday weekend I calculated a cross-country route…
I once tried to buy coke from the head of Manhattan detectives
This is as good as it gets. A light rain is falling on a soft May evening and I’m walking…
The ant mind is right up there with the medieval one
From somewhere in the tree canopy, a nightingale song. The virtuoso trilling and warbling, the underwater bubbling, the teetering on…
My podgy thumbs will never be iPhone-compatible
You can’t always get what you want. And you can never get what you want if you want a phone…
A Finnish man was fined £83,000 for speeding because his annual income is £10.1 million
I have rather a poor record for speeding over the years. I have been caught by cameras quite often, sometimes…
The Kenya Fly Fishers’ club makes the Bullingdon look rather left-wing
Nairobi Trout were first introduced into Kenya’s highland streams in 1905. Men like Ewart Grogan, ‘baddest and boldest of…
Bridge
I was lucky enough to sit next to David Gilmour of Pink Floyd at a friend’s dinner the other night.…
Reichenbach falls
The former world champion Vladimir Kramnik recently espoused an opening system which I elaborated in a tournament in Germany in 1975.…
Puzzle no. 363
White to play. This is from Kramnik-Svidler, Russian Team Championship, Sochi 2015. The black pieces are in a tangle and…
21st-century Belloc
In Competition No. 2898 you were invited to give an update on one of the children in Cautionary Tales who…
Plus ça change
The unclued Across lights (Individually or as a pair) are defined by the unclued Down lights (individually or as a…
To 2209: Safe-blowers
The unclued lights were preceded by PETER (translation of 32A) to form phrases listed in Chambers or Brewer. First prize…
It's hard not to gloat, but I'm trying my hardest
I was disappointed to hear Andy Burnham on Marr last Sunday declare his opposition to free schools. He put plenty…
Battle for Britain
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The importance of selective inefficiency
Readers of a certain age may remember choosing a cassette player in the 1980s. In theory the process was simple:…
Dear Mary, what do you do when you can't read the replies to a wedding invitation?
Q. How can I discipline inconsiderate people who do not reply properly to wedding invitations? I am being driven demented…
What to drink when you're on a cloud of post-election euphoria
Most of my friends are still on a cloud of post-election euphoria. There is one exception: those involved with opinion-polling.…
Mind your language: Heritage this and heritage that
Benidorm has applied for World Heritage status. To achieve this, says Unesco, a site must have ‘outstanding universal value’ in…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Reichenbach falls
The former world champion Vladimir Kramnik recently espoused an opening system which I elaborated in a tournament in Germany in 1975.…
Puzzle no. 363
White to play. This is from Kramnik-Svidler, Russian Team Championship, Sochi 2015. The black pieces are in a tangle and…
21st-century Belloc
In Competition No. 2898 you were invited to give an update on one of the children in Cautionary Tales who…
Your problems solved
Q. How can I discipline inconsiderate people who do not reply properly to wedding invitations? I am being driven demented…
Let’s drink to a Tory majority
Most of my friends are still on a cloud of post-election euphoria. There is one exception: those involved with opinion-polling.…
