Life
It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at Bordeaux's misfortune
The en primeur tastings have been taking place in Bordeaux, and the mood has oscillated from despair to defiance. It…
Ping – a silly word with a heroic history
In the search for the remains of flight MH370, a pulse signal was detected beneath the ocean. The BBC called…
A storm in Bordeaux
The en primeur tastings have been taking place in Bordeaux, and the mood has oscillated from despair to defiance. It…
You can buy happiness
If you are reading this article online, perhaps you could go to the comments section and let us know what…
My New York is gone forever. The internet has seen to that
New York Back to the mythic city, dreamed into existence by the movies long ago and instantly memorable, a visually…
We're all just bewildered apes – my financial adviser proves it
Depressed and demoralised after the defeat of his nation of farmers in the second Boer war, Eugène Marais, an Afrikaner…
'I assembled a counter full of sharp objects, and went at it like Rambo in First Blood'
All the way around a cross country course I went, then I got back, tied the horse up at a…
Ledbury Road
Two poems in memory of Mick Imlah 1. ‘Hardy and Housman lived round here,’ I said, slumped in an armchair…
America's crazy war on old pianos
More than 20 years ago, when I was living in New York, I wrote an article about the mutilation by…
Why the other jockeys love Jamie Moore
In the parade ring just after Sire De Grugy had won this year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, I found myself…
Bridge
Dallas to me was an Eighties TV series with huge shoulder pads until I arrived there to play the American…
Candidates compendium
This week I focus on a number of key positions from the World Championship qualifier, the Candidates tournament, which concluded…
No. 308
White to play. This position is from Topalov-Kramnik, Fidé Candidates, Khanty-Mansisk 2014. Kramnik has badly misplayed the opening and now…
Vice verse
In Competition 2841 you were invited to paint an amusing portrait in verse of the vice and folly of humankind.…
2156: Shoreline
Seven items of a kind read clockwise round the perimeter. In ten clues, cryptic indications omit reference to parts of…
to 2153: Selling
Corrections of misprints in clues form the phrase BAIT AND SWITCH. Unclued lights are examples of bait (10, 16, 23,…
Knowing things isn’t ‘20th century’, Justin Webb. It’s the foundation of a successful life
It’s scarcely possible to open a newspaper or magazine these days without reading an article about how the latest technological…
The Battle For Britain
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In defence of the Boat Race
It’s Boat Race time again and as soon as the BBC starts its broadcast on Sunday there will be those…
Dear Mary: How can I escape the tyranny of teacher presents?
Q. It’s only April and yet I am being emailed by parents who have already taken charge and are drumming…
Gordon Ramsay joins in the posh invasion of Battersea
London House is in Battersea, which some people call South Chelsea, but is more East Wandsworth to my mind; or…
Why did we ever spell jail gaol?
‘Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.’ said the Community Chest card…
Ledbury Road
Two poems in memory of Mick Imlah 1. ‘Hardy and Housman lived round here,’ I said, slumped in an armchair…
A far cry from Chelsea
London House is in Battersea, which some people call South Chelsea, but is more East Wandsworth to my mind; or…
Ledbury Road
Two poems in memory of Mick Imlah 1. ‘Hardy and Housman lived round here,’ I said, slumped in an armchair…
