Life
Taki: Come on then Saatchi, name a time and place. I'm serious, are you?
OK, folks. We’ve had enough of Hollande and his rather silly antics, although I do understand the man. Ever younger…
Riding back from Scotland with Ron Burgundy in the privy
When the ticket collector asked to see my ticket, I took the opportunity to ask what time my connection left…
I truly loved you, BT Broadband. I should never have reached for Sky
Don’t do it. Do not, whatever you do, even think about doing it. I was happy not doing it. And…
If America can't put a person to death painlessly, it should stop executions altogether
I have never supported the death penalty. Maybe I was influenced when I was six or seven years old by…
When lawyers take to racehorses
Can you be both restless and content? Standing last week with Graeme McPherson on the viewing platform over his sharply…
Bridge
2014 has started with a bang! The second weekend of January saw TGR’s fifth Auction Pairs in which 71 pairs…
Nimzo style
As promised, this week a victory by chess aficionado Dominic Lawson, former editor of The Spectator. Dominic’s distinguished opponent was…
No. 298
Black to play. This is from Wojtszek-Jobava, Wijk aan Zee 2014. This week’s puzzle is a fine finish from the…
2146: 4 ÷ 4 = 8
The unclued four-letter words can be paired in a particular way to form the remaining unclued lights (one of two…
to 2143: Revising geography
The unclued lights are all geographical locations – paired as anagrams: 13/9, 23/28. 30/17, 34/6 and 42/33. (33 Down is…
Britain's upper class is now too snobbish to speak its name
Last week, YouGov conducted a poll in which people were asked to judge how middle class the party leaders are.…
Battle for Britain
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Five reasons to be cheerful about British sport (yes, even the cricket)
James Cook’s third voyage as an English captain ended in disaster, stabbed to death and disembowelled by a pack of…
Dear Mary: How can I hide my tattoo from the in-laws?
Q. I have a tattoo the length of my forearm and am worried it will alienate my new boyfriend’s parents…
The 1980s relics of Langan's Brasserie
Langan’s Brasserie announces its presence with a long, pink neon line of Langanses, tootling prettily along its façade, which is…
Challenging 'challenging'
‘Pistols at dawn,’ said my husband, flapping a pair of Marigold rubber gloves from the other side of the kitchen. ‘I don’t…
Dining with relics
Langan’s Brasserie announces its presence with a long, pink neon line of Langanses, tootling prettily along its façade, which is…
Winter warmers
James Cook’s third voyage as an English captain ended in disaster, stabbed to death and disembowelled by a pack of…
Man with a plan
Can you be both restless and content? Standing last week with Graeme McPherson on the viewing platform over his sharply…
Essence of…
In Competition 2832 you were invited to compose what might be a quintessential opening paragraph from the pen of either…
When I played softball for Esquire, against Screw
Al Goldstein, who died recently and made the front page of the New York Times, was among the world’s most…
The joy of showing my grandson how to wield an axe
Until a fortnight ago there was a healthy, graceful, 70ft-specimen of Eucalyptus dalrympleana — or mountain gum — in the…
My iPhone, iPad and Blackberry are conspiring against me
‘How often do you de-frag this?’ said the Good Geek in the phone shop. I had gone in finally to…
Forget the sex scandal. Why does Francois Hollande have only one pair of shoes?
Of all the interesting revelations by the French magazine Closer about François Hollande, the most interesting for me is its…
I don't love money, but I love the risks it makes me take
On the flight into Kinshasa, I sat next to an elderly Englishman who was pallid with fear. He revealed that…
