Life
How can I be a member of the Chipping Norton set?
Q. I am working on becoming a member of the Chipping Norton set. Should I be pronouncing the excellent open-air…
Life — and death — of a Tokay
I was praying for a miracle, but it seemed unlikely. There had been one already: the bottle’s very survival. A…
Word of the Week: If your jacket isn't blazing, don't call it a 'blazer'
‘It’s not right, is it?’ said Veronica, pointing to a poster for H&M women’s blazers at £17.I agreed. But she…
Death of an imperial survivor
I was praying for a miracle, but it seemed unlikely. There had been one already: the bottle’s very survival. A…
Towering Ivory
Trainers used to come into racing with Aunt Agatha’s legacy after a short service commission, having probably worn a trilby…
High Speed 2’s no-fly zone
From Edinburgh airport there are more than 45 flights a day to London. And, I imagine, the same number back.…
ANOTHER media failure. How does Tina Brown get away with it?
Gstaad Why are hacks scared to state the obvious? In Britain the excuse is the strict libel laws. But in…
Jeremy Clarke: Taki makes me feel like dancing
‘Jeremy! Jeremy! I can’t believe it! There’s no bloody booze!’ I’d walked into the music room where Elgar and Fauré…
Melissa Kite: I am thinking of copyrighting My Builder Boyfriend
The Builder Boyfriend has nearly moved in. I say nearly because we are both quite nervous about committing to each…
Alexander Chancellor: It seemed a little creepy that thousands of people wanted to
My village, Stoke Bruerne in south Northamptonshire, is just getting back to normal after a great influx of visitors for…
Aidan Hartley: I have been shot at and bombed so why do I fear a pyramid?
It was towards dusk by the time we had given the tourist police the slip and started climbing the pyramid…
Bridge
If you are allergic to wasp stings, may I give you a word of advice? Keep away from them! Don’t…
World Cup
The recently concluded Fide (World Chess Federation) World Cup held at Tromso in Norway resulted in a triumph for Vladimir…
puzzle no. 284
Black to play. This position is from Riazantsev-Felgaer, Tromso 2013. Black’s forces have invaded the white kingside. Can you spot…
Winner: "Psychopaths of Glory — Unlocking the Bastard Within
In Competition 2815 you were invited to contribute to the booming genre of self-help by proposing a new title guaranteed…
2131: Present
16/17 (four words in total) is a work by 11 which suggests the remaining unclued lights. Five clues contain a…
Solution to 2128: carbon copy
The puzzle marked a DOUBLE TON (42/27) by DUMPYNOSE (11) in THE SPECTATOR (17/19). Remaining unclued lights suggest a DOUBLETON:…
Why I want my schools to ban the burka (and the miniskirt)
For most people, the question of whether to ban the burka is a purely theoretical one. Not for me. As…
Dave
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Golf’s $10 million nobodies
Golf has reached the eye-watering end of the season in the United States. By Sunday night, one man in a…
Dear Mary: How can I make my host pour me a drink?
Q. Some years ago, on holiday in Egypt, we found ourselves in the company of a couple who wanted to…
A restaurant in a synagogue. How strange can it be?
A restaurant in a synagogue may be too mad even for this column but we are Jews, so why not?…
Capital letters
One man’s grammatical nicety is another man’s grotesque solecism, I thought, as I perused a report in the Gulf News,…
Proper kosher
A restaurant in a synagogue may be too mad even for this column but we are Jews, so why not?…
$10 million nobodies
Golf has reached the eye-watering end of the season in the United States. By Sunday night, one man in a…
