Life

Is this the death of horse racing?

20 August 2022 9:00 am

I don’t miss too many from the political world I once inhabited but I was saddened by the death of…

My farmhouse nightmare

20 August 2022 9:00 am

From the veranda of a small Irish farmhouse, I looked out over the sun-drenched West Cork peninsula. All I could…

Dear Mary: How can I stop my husband overeating?

20 August 2022 9:00 am

Q. Some older American friends take me and my husband out to dinner once a year when they are over…

Why I’m defending a pro-Putin apologist

20 August 2022 9:00 am

As a defender of free speech, I’m used to taking up the cudgels on behalf of unsavoury people. To quote…

The Battle for Britain | 20 August 2022

20 August 2022 9:00 am

Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.

What Bob Dylan can teach us about economics

20 August 2022 9:00 am

The problem with attempts to make everything in life more scientific is that reality hates generalisation. You can try to…

No, Boris Johnson isn’t ‘missing in action’

20 August 2022 9:00 am

Someone in the Guardian wrote that Boris Johnson had his ‘out of office’ on, and the Chancellor was ‘missing in…

At least we still have wine

20 August 2022 9:00 am

Even in recent heat, the English summer can be magical. As long as there is shade, a pool and a…

Aussie Life

13 August 2022 9:00 am

‘Give it up for the band!’ cried Van Morrison from the stage at King John’s castle in Limerick the other…

Language

13 August 2022 9:00 am

As the contest to replace Boris Johnson draws towards its protracted close, we should remember that many of the original…

Epigram

13 August 2022 9:00 am

Our Marriage Soundtrack I think of our marriage quite often. I think of the music as well. It started with…

The curse of the jet-ski

13 August 2022 9:00 am

An F. Scott Fitzgerald biographer by the name of David S. Brown refers to America’s promotion of deviancy (my words)…

Bridge | 13 August 2022

13 August 2022 9:00 am

To paraphrase E.L. Wisty, the late, great Peter Cook’s alter ego, ‘Some people are born lazy, some become lazy and…

How I found perfect happiness

13 August 2022 9:00 am

The view from the upstairs window was of other large and secluded houses perched on other still-green Surrey Hills. I…

There is nothing speedy about speedy boarding

13 August 2022 9:00 am

When my black passport arrived in the post, I decided to take a trip. I’m not a good flier, so…

2568: Next door have gone

13 August 2022 9:00 am

The unclued lights, two of two words, and including four pairs using two of the unclued lights twice, are of…

2562: 3 X 2 - solution

13 August 2022 9:00 am

The unclued lights are words (or one phrase) which contain three pairs (3 x 2, in the title) of double…

What Richard Thompson can do for English cricket

13 August 2022 9:00 am

Well alleluia, English cricket doesn’t seem able to put a foot wrong these days. After hitting three cherries with Rob…

Will ‘hosepipe ban’ make it into the dictionary?

13 August 2022 9:00 am

‘Got any ’ose?’ asked my husband, falling into his Two Ronnies ‘Four Candles’ routine, in which he likes to play…

No. 715

13 August 2022 9:00 am

White to play. Navara – Batsuren, Chennai Olympiad 2022. In this strange position Czech grandmaster David Navara found an elegant…

A great chef at his best: Lisboeta reviewed

13 August 2022 9:00 am

In 2014, Nuno Mendes, a chef from Lisbon by way of Wolfgang Puck’s kitchens and his own Viajante in Bethnal…

Poems about the James Webb Space Telescope

13 August 2022 9:00 am

In Competition No. 3261, you were invited to submit a poem about the James Webb Space Telescope. The first dazzling…

India’s young stars

13 August 2022 9:00 am

At the Chennai Olympiad, the Indian team began as second seeds, even with former World Champion Vishy Anand absent from…

The Battle for Britain | 13 August 2022

13 August 2022 9:00 am

Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.

The (occasional) joy of being a QPR fan

13 August 2022 9:00 am

I made my way to Loftus Road on Saturday for QPR’s first home fixture of the season. We’ve got a…