Life
Pub food, Disney-style: the George reviewed
The George, Fitzrovia, was Saki’s local, and a pub for men talking about cars when Great Portland Street was called…
Dominic Raab and the problem of ‘distraction’
Dominic Raab blamed distraction forBoris Johnson’s woes when the Tories failed in two by-elections last week. ‘Hehas track records as…
The long and the short of it in Africa
Kenya As late as the 1920s, it was believed that Africa’s tropical sun would boil a European’s brains. ‘The direct…
Is any sporting event more brutal than the Tour de France?
That great Frenchman the Marquis de Sade would have been justly proud of the Tour de France had he lived…
A journey backwards through my journals
I’m looking backwards: old journals, old photographs, old notebooks. What strikes me above all is the vigour and energy I…
In praise of the London sense of humour
London As speaker at a posh dinner given by Jonathan and Jake Goedhuis, best UK wine merchants by far, and…
The day I got heckled at Speakers’ Corner
Monday was the 150th anniversary of Speakers’ Corner and, in the hope of drumming up some publicity for the Free…
Bridge | 2 July 2022
Rubber bridge is a game that happens to suit me very well: you can come and go as you please…
The Battle for Britain | 2 July 2022
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
How I got one over on the chat bot
‘Your service contract has been completed,’ said someone or something from British Gas, in the chat box on its website.…
Aussie life
It’s too soon to say whether President Biden’s response to the carnage in Tulsa, Uvalde and Buffalo (‘For God’s sake,…
Language
We live in a world that seems to have largely abandoned punctuation – those small marks between words that help…
The joy of Royal Ascot
In a disintegrating country, stuck for the moment with a Prime Minister who can’t see the difference between a proliferation…
The Battle for Britain | 25 June 2022
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Will my kitchen be designated a ‘safe space’?
As the father of four children who will be entering higher education in the next few years, I’m worried that…
Dear Mary: Must I call my new partner my ‘boyfriend’ when we’re in our seventies?
Q. My girlfriend and I have started using a personal trainer for some joint sessions at our local gym; the…
A voyage through fine wine off Sardinia
One could get used to this. I come from seafaring stock, albeit distant. ‘Anderson’ suggests Viking antecedents, especially as my…
Buying a brand-new car is the ultimate good deed
The Department for Transport recently ended a £1,500 subsidy towards the price of new, lower-priced electric cars one year earlier…
Bridge | 25 June 2022
At a bridge tournament about 15 years ago, I started chatting to a friendly, eccentric woman in her mid-sixties, wearing…
In praise of a solidly, wonderfully French hotel
Nothing in the beach hotel was made of plastic. It wasn’t advertised as being a plastic-free hotel, but we noticed…
Rewilding will kill Waitrose
‘Do you care about the woodland? Do you care about the wildlife?’ shouted the bearded Woodland Trust volunteer from his…
Lord Geidt’s ‘odious’ remark
Lord Geidt said in his resignationletter that he had been put in an odious position. He meant it was hateful,though…
Don’t bet against Emmanuel Macron
It’s nice to be back on the old continent again, especially after getting within a couple of hundred yards of…
2558: Blonde, 78 - solution
Unclued lights were associated with JUBILEE: years (CALENDAR, SCHOOL, FINANCIAL), clips (CROCODILE,PAPER, TIE) and London underground lines (CENTRAL, CIRCLE, NORTHERN).…
2561: PORTS
Six unclued entries comprise systematically ordered non-words thematically linked by a normal entry, itself unclued. Across 1 Awaiting consideration,…
