Life
After visiting the Cherwell Boathouse, I might spare Oxford from burning
It is now two decades since I lived in Oxford. I was then a drunk and lonely puddle of a…
Why –y? The evolution of a suffix
Hitler was ‘dark, shouty, moustachioed’ in Churchill’s eyes, or rather, that was Jonathan Rose’s view of how Churchill saw Hitler,…
Oxford blues
It is now two decades since I lived in Oxford. I was then a drunk and lonely puddle of a…
What’s right with Saracens– and José’s Chelsea
It’s hard to love Saracens rugby club — their centre is called Bosch, a word that also describes their bulldozing…
Settling up
Mrs Oakley takes a dim view of my using the BMW that consumed much of her savings to ferry sacks…
The death of three young people I knew
New York The poet was right: April is the cruellest month. We at The Spectator lost Clarissa Tan, my good…
My VIP drive around Rajasthan
Two years ago, roughly, for a travel piece, I flew to Delhi and took a southbound train to a dusty…
Like a Volvo, I start predicting disaster long before it happens
The mechanic hooked the Volvo up to his special laptop. He had kindly offered to come to me in order…
As a nation of voyeurs, we don’t cook but watch TV cookery programmes instead
When I got married 50 years ago, my wife and I had somehow acquired a little cookery book called Cooking…
Hunted in Mogadishu by the Sick Man and the Jilbab
From a way off, as he entered the café, he looked young and handsome but when he sat down there…
Bridge
It’s no coincidence that many card players excel at both bridge and poker. The poker legend Gus Hansen plays a…
Watch and wait
While Viswanathan Anand, the former world champion, has been qualifying for a revenge match for the world title, Magnus Carlsen,…
No. 311
White to play. This is a variation from Carlsen-Leitao, Brazil 2014. White has a big attack on the kingside which…
Inconsequential
In Competition No. 2844 you were invited to provide an extract from either a gripping thriller or a bodice-ripping romance…
2159: Wine, Woman and Song
Nine unclued lights are linked in three different ways (three lights to each) to a tenth, which solvers should highlight.…
to 2156: Shoreline
The perimeter is occupied by seven SANDPIPERS. First prize Tim Hanks, Douglas, Isle of Man Runners-up Hilda Ball, Belfast;…
Yes, Britain is a Christian country
I can’t say it was a great surprise to read a letter from a group of well-known authors, academics, comedians…
Battle For Britain
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What do you get if you cross a suitcase with rollerblades?
A 14-year-old at an American school recently caused a stir when he claimed that the US government could save over…
Dear Mary: Do I grass on my son’s schoolfriend?
Q. My son was invited, both verbally and via Facebook, to a schoolfriend’s 16th birthday party. However, when I met…
A toast to Le Roi Jen Quinze
There ought to be a new literary award: the antisocial book of the year. A dozen years ago, Claire Tomalin’s…
Dot Wordsworth: What is an astel?
Dear old Ian Hislop was pottering around North Petherton, Somerset, on television, to talk about the Alfred Jewel, found nearby…
A toast to Le Roi Jean Quinze
There ought to be a new literary award: the antisocial book of the year. A dozen years ago, Claire Tomalin’s…
Ideas that breed
A 14-year-old at an American school recently caused a stir when he claimed that the US government could save over…
Wild life
From a way off, as he entered the café, he looked young and handsome but when he sat down there…
