Life
Dear Mary: How can I evade nosy questions at parties?
Q. How, in a party context, can one avoid answering what used to be called ‘nosey’ questions without being rude?…
At the Chiltern Firehouse, smugness should be on the menu
Here then is Gatsby’s house, after an invasion by the Daily Mail. It is called the Chiltern Firehouse. It is…
The bloody battle for the name Isis
‘This’ll make you laugh,’ said my husband, looking up from the Daily Telegraph. For once he was right. It was…
Dinner with the paparazzi
Here then is Gatsby’s house, after an invasion by the Daily Mail. It is called the Chiltern Firehouse. It is…
England’s World Cup: the post mortem
Iran, eh: who knew? Last time I checked it was the great Satan, locking up its own people, stamping out…
Winning ways
The one sight I was determined not to miss at Royal Ascot was that of the Queen from over the…
Coming soon: my engagement to Kristin Scott Thomas
As everyone who has ever joined a club knows, Pugs is the world’s most exclusive one, its members ranging from…
An orgy of violence at the summer fête
After three days tête-à-tête (and sometimes tête-à-pied) I walked into town alone to get some air and see what the…
Please take your holiday in Kenya this year
Rift Valley Many of my British tribe fled Kenya around independence in 1963 because they believed there was no future.…
2167: Groupies
The unclued lights are of a kind and are listed together in Chambers 2011. Solvers should highlight two normally clued…
to 2164: Blank crossword
The unclued lights are types of CROSS. Solver were required to indicate clearly the FYLFOT at the centre of the…
Terrorists still can't 'execute' anyone
During the sudden advances of ISIS in Iraq, one visual image stood for their brutality. As the Daily Mail reported…
To the eco-warrior on the moped...
‘Well,’ said my gay lawyer friend Stephen as I pulled over to drop him off at Sloane Square Tube, ‘it’s…
On being fired – and hired – as an editor
Last week was unusual. At the start of it, I was mooching about in the country in my customary way,…
Bridge
It takes a lot for me to give up on a ‘double-dummy’ bridge problem — i.e. one in which you…
Hat trick
For the second year running, 24-year-old Sergei Karjakin has won the Norway International, on both occasions ahead of Magnus Carlsen. The…
No. 319
Black to play. This is a variation from Svidler-Carlsen, Norway Chess 2014. Failing to win this game cost Carlsen first…
Unlikely champion
In Competition No. 2852 you were invited to step into the shoes of a well-known writer of your choice and…
It’s time to face down the greatest intellectual threat of our era (oh, and Ed Miliband)
As you’re reading this, I will still be recovering from the dinner I’m due to attend this week to celebrate…
Battle for Britain
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The six things that'll change when I rule the world
But why did the food [in England] stay so bad after refrigerated ships, frozen foods and eventually air-freight deliveries of…
Dear Mary: What's the cure for a workshy teenager?
Q. I agreed to give (paid) gap-year work experience in my own large garden to the grandson of an extremely…
The joy of Glenmorangie
Glenmorangie is the most accessible of malt whiskies. It is a gentle, almost feminine creature, with hints of spring flowers,…
The joy of Glenmorangie
Glenmorangie is the most accessible of malt whiskies. It is a gentle, almost feminine creature, with hints of spring flowers,…
Six ways to a better life
But why did the food [in England] stay so bad after refrigerated ships, frozen foods and eventually air-freight deliveries of…
