Sweet and sour
Angela Hui was born into a life of service: Chinese takeaway service. Her parents had fled mainland China, where they…
Think pink
In the battle of ideas, it is sometimes necessary to make a tactical withdrawal. That is now the case over…
Blood lines
Where does a mother’s history end and a daughter’s begin?
Beyond a joke
The death of bad-taste humour
Culture wars
‘Come on, old girl,’ said my husband as though encouraging a cow stuck in a ditch, ‘you must know.’ It…
High life
Michael Beloff, QC and past president of Trinity College Oxford, has just had his memoir reviewed in The Spectator, and…
Real life
My phone buzzed and rang while I was doing the horses until I thought, fine, I’ll call the Defence Secretary…
Bridge
I was very sorry to learn of the death of the legendary American player and author Eddie Kantar – he…
The turf
President George W. Bush used to quote his fellow Texan Robert Strauss who famously declared: ‘You can fool some of…
The Battle for Britain: Michael Heath
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Hornets
There’s surely not a more despised creature in Britain than the hornet. They have long been viewed as yellow jacketed…
Puzzle no. 712
White to play and mate in two. Composed by Philip Hamilton Williams, British Chess Magazine, 1895. Answers should be emailed…
Wetware
Modern chess computers, like the program ‘Stockfish’, are treated as oracles. Plug in a position, start the engine, and within…
Storybook holiday
In Competition No. 3258, you were invited to submit a postcard sent while on holiday in a well-known fictional destination…
2565: 3 x 2
The unclued lights (two single words, one a proper noun, four pairs and one trio) share a certain feature. …
Solution to 2562: Clear view…
The title resolves into CL RVW which suggests the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The unclued…
Reckless caution
Trains were running even more slowly than usual. Schools were closed again. Offices were empty. No one would deny that…
The state and the Union
A ‘global’ history of Scotland must, by its very nature, be one of Britain and Empire too, says Alex Massie
The ruthless inefficiency of the Tory party
It is hard to love the Conservative party. But one reason it has at least always commanded a certain amount…
Hero or Villain? The plot to cancel Captain Cook
Attempts are being made to cancel Samuel Griffith from his prominent role in Australian history, inevitably pushed by the university…
Novak Djokovic versus the Rule of Law
Earlier this week, our magazine weekly columnist, Ramesh Thakur, made an impassioned defence of tennis champion and unvaccinated Serb, Novak…
Priti and Truss back MPs over Beijing’s threats
Most Tories are focusing on the leadership race but for some there are other concerns. Take the five MPs who…
Ukraine and Russia sign grain deal – what next?
This afternoon Kyiv and Moscow signed a UN-backed agreement to free up at least 20 million tons of grain from…
Don’t blame Brexit for the Dover chaos
Queues stretching back for several hours. Children going crazy in the back seat. Cars breaking down in the heat, and…
A rather funny story about Ivana Trump
The death of Ivana Trump last week reminded me of a story I had always meant to check. I rang…
