Life
Nick Elliott and a life worth drinking to
The English language has immense resources, but the odd weakness. What, for instance, is the translation for ‘Auld lang syne’?…
Should I grow old gracefully – or disgracefully?
Now that I’m about to turn 70, I’m wondering: shall I grow old gracefully, or disgracefully? Everyone I know, young…
Life lessons from a 2,000-year-old plant
Iona, Angola East of the gulps of cormorants along the Skeleton Coast by the Ilha da Baia dos Tigres, Atlantic…
My B&B’s first celebrity guest
The TV talent show star was due to arrive at 5 p.m., and would be checking into our house long…
Aussie life
Recently the ABC online, and the Weekend Australian, both published detailed articles about problems within the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.…
Language
Can ‘difficult’ be used as a verb? Surely not, I hear you mutter. But on the web I encountered the…
The meaning of ‘moot’? It’s debatable
In Florence there was a stone on which Dante sat in the evenings, pondering and talking to acquaintances. One asked…
The science of voting for Kamala Harris
The latest issue of Scientific American, a popular science monthly published by Springer Nature, contains an editorial endorsing Kamala Harris.…
Why women’s golf is better than men’s
In the exhilarating event of Somerset managing to sneak past Surrey and being on their way to claim their first…
Dear Mary: Should you flush the loo in the night when staying with friends?
Q. We live in an area with no mobile reception and trying to get hold of taxis for guests leaving…
As good as Noble Rot: Cloth reviewed
Cloth is opposite St Bartholomew the Great on Cloth Fair. People call this place Farringdon, but it isn’t really: it…
Can I find my tribe in Brighton?
Recently I lost my mother, my job and nearly my wife in quick succession (she was diagnosed with breast cancer).…
The inside track on racing syndicates
Billy Connolly once declared that Scotland had only two seasons: June and winter. Perversely, though, just as the northern swallows…
Have I met my riding friends?
The sound of the little cart on the lane came first and then the sight of the pony clip-clopping towards…
Give vitello tonnato a chance
I am sure there are beloved British dishes that inspire horror in those from different cultures, that are truly unappealing…
