Life
The best of times, the worst of times
The comic book Asterix in Switzerland is full of joys, not least the many jokes about Swiss obsessions with tidiness…
Taki: Why is Steve Cohen still getting away with seven billion big ones?
If, according to a Viennese wit, psychoanalysis is the disease that calls itself the cure, then Steve Cohen’s deal with…
Jeremy Clarke: Running into Rachel
I’d been trying to curb the habit — one day at a time — and then I felt a bit…
'He said you said she said' — country chatter is exhausting
Speeding down the farm track from my little country retreat, I came across the gamekeeper in his Defender. I wound…
'Too Fat Polka', and other politically incorrect songs of the 1940s
When I was a child, growing up in Hertfordshire just after the second world war, my parents employed a cook…
The Qataris are influencing every aspect of racing
Not having the odd £100,000 to spare, I had never before joined the world’s richest owners and their bloodstock agents…
Bridge
It’s difficult for non-players to imagine the extent to which bridge hands can torment us. I’ve spent hours this week…
The 16th?
Magnus Carlsen is seeking to become the 16th world chess champion in a line that includes such giants as Bobby…
No. 289
Black to play. This is a variation from Svidler-Nepomniatchi, Novgorod 2013. Svidler avoided this position, despite the fact that White…
Postscript
In Competition 2820 you were invited to supply a postscript to any well-known novel. This challenge was suggested by…
2136: Howdunit
Six of the unclued entries (one of three words, three of two words and one hyphened; all in Chambers apart…
To 2133: FM
Initial letters of superfluous words in clues give titles of ALBUMS (29D) by FLEETWOOD MAC (39). 8A, 25, 33 and…
Toby Young: It's biological, I become a caveman when my child is sick
The first sign that something was wrong with Ludo was when he complained of a tummy ache. This was after…
Dave
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
My £30k alternative to HS2
Someone in New York told me this story. I admit that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it.…
Dear Mary — The e-cigarette party is the new Tupperware party
Q. One of my oldest and best friends, who has lived up north for years, begged me to let her…
Drink: the romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
The bare-brained youth of south London
‘Bare? Extra? What does it all mean?’ asked my husband, sounding like George Smiley in the middle of a particularly…
The romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
True gamblers
Not having the odd £100,000 to spare, I had never before joined the world’s richest owners and their bloodstock agents…
Smart cars
Someone in New York told me this story. I admit that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it.…
Taki: Watch James Toback’s film starring Alex Baldwin and me
New York He came from a wealthy background but was always in trouble. His parents were not particularly religious, but…
My sky-blue 50mg Viagra tablet fell on to the floor. ‘Do you need to get that?’ she said - Jeremy Clarke
I’d booked a private one-to-one session with her for an hour on the afternoon of the day she flew in.…
'I'm going to move things along as quickly as I can, but first of all can I say...'
‘Hello, good morning, my name is Gavin Moneypenny, and I’m your customer service representative for today and I’m pleased to…
Alexander Chancellor: Why aren't Italians angrier about Nazi atrocities?
Given that more than 9,000 innocent Italian civilians, many of them women and children, died in Nazi massacres during the…
