Life
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…
Spinning Jenny
In Competition No. 2857 you were invited to take the first line of Leigh Hunt’s mini rondeau ‘Jenny Kissed me’,…
2172: Para
In June we lost a popular 40. Clockwise round the grid from 3 run the titles of two of his…
to 2169: Land
The grid represents Germany, with six bordering countries round the edge, and four cities in the interior, positioned roughly appropriately…
Do-gooders neglect their children. Just look at my dad – and me
A few years ago, a family friend described my father as being a bit like Mrs Jellyby in Bleak House,…
Battle for Britain
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Alastair Cook is world class. Steven Gerrard isn’t
This time last year, England’s cricketers were 2-0 up against Australia, two thirds of the way towards their third consecutive…
Dear Mary: How can I tame my brother’s savage table manners?
Q. I live far away from my brother and his family, but went to stay with them recently for the…
Does the Duke of Devonshire really want to be my friend – or is he just after my bank details?
The Chatsworth estate, Derby-shire. I am overwhelmed by marketing literature. I am prostrate. I am weeping. I am staying in…
Does 'autonomy' mean anything any more?
My husband is constantly amused by talk of patient autonomy — for people who want to have a limb lopped…
