Life
The indiscreet charm of Jim Davidson
Le tout Torquay was there, cramming into the Princess Theatre with a drink in each hand ten minutes after the…
The only woman who can make me lie
With a heavy heart, I have just conducted my biannual lying session. I hate that I have to do this.…
You can't spin yourself into authenticity – as Ed Miliband is finding out
For a politician to draw attention to his own deficiencies is a desperate attempt to curry favour with the electorate…
Bridge
The brilliant American bridge writer and former world champion Eddie Kantar once overheard two wives in his bridge class arguing…
Treasure Island
As I write, young Jonathan Hawkins has stormed into the lead in the British Championship in Aberystwyth with the tremendous…
no. 325
White to play. This position is from Rogers-Milos, Manila Olympiad 1992. White is a mass of material down but the…
Hidden talent
In Competition No. 2858 you were invited to imagine that a well-known figure from 20th-century history was a secret poet…
2173: Men of note
The unclued lights are of a specific kind. Across 11 Top flier backs help for sloth (6)…
to 2170: Hector’s summer nights
The unclued lights are the titles of the six movements of Nuits d’Eté (Summer Nights in translation) by Hector Berlioz:…
Want to be a neglectful parent? Come to a festival and learn
I spent last weekend at Port Eliot in Cornwall. This is supposed to be a literary and music festival and…
Battle for Britain
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Four gadgets to take on holiday — and two to leave behind
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
Dear Mary: How to accept wine refills at parties without getting drunk
Q. At a drinks or a dinner party, when very attentive waiters are hovering, I tend to let them keep…
From Glyndebourne to St Thomas's Hospital
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
The mystery of the missing Mrs
I don’t much care for being called Wordsworth. Oh, the name is rather distinguished, though it came from my husband,…
Bedside manners
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
Holiday kit – should it stay or should it go?
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
My love for that heroic country Poland
One event I regretted missing on my last visit to London was a party at the Polish Club, which has…
My grandson’s Great Leap Forward
‘Oscar!’ cried Miss Herd as I arrived. She was standing at the classroom door releasing her charges one by one…
One day I was always going to have to eat quinoa. It might as well be now
As a rule, I tend not to frequent places where there is a sign on the door saying ‘no sharps’.…
Freedom for my chickens! All it took was a man with a gun
If I haven’t mentioned my poultry for a while, it’s because the subject has been too depressing. I had been…
A day with the West Ilsley trainer Denis Coakley
Through a stormy July weekend our task was to prevent four feisty grandchildren from murdering or mutilating each other before…
Bridge
Richard Selway was one of the first friends I made in the bridge world. Long-standing ‘host’ at TGR’s, he was…
Witsch craft
The ever reliable Steve Giddins has just published a new book on that great strategist Aron Nimzowitsch. This is the…
no. 324
White to play. This is from Storey–Jarmany, -British Championship, Aberystwyth 2014. White’s position is overwhelming but what is the quickest…
