Life
Dear Mary: How can I make my shy friend’s generosity plain?
Q. I have a friend who can be shy and inhibited. Recently, he was invited to stay on a Caribbean…
There’s only one place to mourn another Labour loss
Ed is a plank. He was always a plank — and now he is in Ibiza being a plank. Plankety–plankety-plank:…
That irritating use of ‘progressive’ is more than a century old
I was interested by the widespread annoyance at the use of progressive by the lefty parties before the election. Irritation…
Battle for Britain
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Hypnotism
During the World Championship qualifier of 1959, grandmaster Pal Benko wore dark glasses to counter the hypnotic gaze of his…
No. 362
White to play. This position is from Tal–Benko, Candidates 1959. Black has just advanced with … e5, attacking the white knight.…
Gizza job
In Competition No. 2897 you were asked for a job application by a well-known writer, living or dead. Inspiration for…
Your problems solved
Q. I have a friend who can be shy and inhibited. Recently, he was invited to stay on a Caribbean…
Goulash and whiplash
Ed is a plank. He was always a plank — and now he is in Ibiza being a plank. Plankety–plankety-plank:…
High life
OK. Magnanimity in victory is a sine qua non among civilised men and women, so let me not be the…
Long life
On election day I was in Puglia in the ‘heel’ of Italy, where interest in British politics could hardly be…
Long life
On election day I was in Puglia in the ‘heel’ of Italy, where interest in British politics could hardly be…
Low life
I’ve been on two cruises before: one was fun, the other misery. The misery one was a late August cruise…
Low life
I’ve been on two cruises before: one was fun, the other misery. The misery one was a late August cruise…
Progressive
I was interested by the widespread annoyance at the use of progressive by the lefty parties before the election. Irritation…
Real life
The ‘I’m Voting For Chuka’ posters in my rich neighbours’ front windows pushed me over the edge. There is nothing…
A few tips for Straussie
If you watched England’s three-day Test defeat by the West Indies in Barbados the other day to the bitter end…
Why I still have a deep attachment to the BBC
After I failed my O-levels and decided to leave school, my father suggested I go to Israel to work on…
Why I still have a deep attachment to the BBC
After I failed my O-levels and decided to leave school, my father suggested I go to Israel to work on…
Ones to watch
Back on political duty with CNN in election week, I came across a dead rat in Downing Street. It had…
I’d move to Kosovo if Ed Miliband became prime minister
If any of you sees Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, walking around with a begging bowl in his…
We could swear and spit, strangle and shoot people
The old fishing town faced the sea psychically as well as architecturally. Dressed as pirates, my grandson and I walked…
I only left Emily unattended in the open for 60 seconds
In the seemingly endless search for somewhere nice to live in modern Britain, where parking is not subject to martial…
The over-75s are being asked if they would like to sign their own death warrants
It’s more than four months now since my 75th birthday, but I’m still waiting for a ‘cold call’ from the…
Bridge
I couldn’t help snorting when I came across an article in the Guardian last week (about the ongoing legal battle…
