Life
Don’t they know it’s Christmas?
When I imagine the perfect Christmas lunch, I think of the end of A Christmas Carol in which Scrooge turns…
Aussie life
‘Where’s the sausage?’ I asked my wife as we lined up at the local primary school to exercise our democratic…
Language
We are being constantly warned that economic doom, gloom and disaster are about to hit – because of the impact…
First-class citizen
In Competition No. 3278, you were invited to supply a well-known writer’s response to the question what makes the perfect…
World Senior Championship
English grandmaster John Nunn was the top seed in the over-65 section at the World Senior Championship, held in Italy last…
Cheese fondue
‘This dish is very you,’ my husband says, as I serve up 650g of melted, boozy cheese to the two…
A Ukrainian victory
Mriya lives at the end of Old Brompton Road where South Kensington turns into Earl’s Court and, as if by…
Fare treatment
In early 2020 my family and I were due to fly home from visiting a friend in Oman when the…
When did disagreement become ‘disinformation’?
According to a quote in a recent article by the environment editor of the Times, I’m ‘the most prominent UK…
Real life
‘Then I got taken hostage in Iran,’ said the lady sitting next to me in the hairdresser’s as she was…
Low life
Sometimes, when the weather is fine, Treena calls up the stairs: ‘Why don’t you sit out on the terrace and…
High life
New York It’s party time in the Bagel, and also the last week I’ll be spending in this unrefined place.…
Aussie life
When I wrote on this page recently about Alan Bond’s America’s Cup boxing kangaroo mascot being repurposed by the Australian…
Language
There is an obsession today with something called ‘diversity and inclusion’. But what do those words really mean? And are…
Grave thoughts
In Competition No. 3277, you were invited to supply a poem to mark the 100th anniversary of the discovery of…






























