Life
Should things still grow ‘like Topsy’?
I’ve heard two people in the past week make a jocular remark about things just growing ‘Like Topsy’. They were…
The overlooked brilliance of Branaire-Ducru
At the end of last century, when there were grounds for optimism about Russia’s future, an increasingly popular word expressed…
What the media is doing to our politics
An American academic told me that during the 2016 presidential election nobody in academia believed there was the faintest chance…
Bread pudding is the perfect bridge from autumn to winter
I am incapable of throwing anything away in the kitchen. In my fridge, there must be at least half a…
My prescription for surviving the winter
Winter is finally upon us and I’m relying on my usual array of tablets and powders to ward off seasonal…
Ascot was a high-profile disaster for jump racing
The government may for the moment have disbanded its circular firing squad, but racing has never shown a greater ability…
Why you should ask to see your pet’s medical notes
‘Notice from your vets’ said the email subject. I clicked and there was a letter telling me that my vet…
My Willie Thorne moment
The sunny, growing month of November is the British expat’s Provençal dividend. Every morning the meridional sunshine comes in through…
Aussie life
It has become the standard practice of Australian property developers to decorate the hoardings around inner-city construction sites with photographs…
Language
When I was chatting to Peta Credlin on Sky News the question came up of the word ‘normalcy’. It has…
Another wasteland lost: Battersea Power Station reviewed
The rude fingers of Battersea are repointed, and barely rude at all. The power station by Giles Gilbert Scott and…
Rugby’s new golden age
This column may have been somewhat negative about the future of rugby recently – so how cheering to report a…
Gary Neville’s fairweather morality
Should England be participating in the Qatar World Cup? On the face of it, the case for a boycott is…
