Life
Border wars
If you think the Calcutta Cup is just any old rugby match between England and Scotland, then the latest in…
Breton galette complête
When we were little we used to go on holiday to the same place in Brittany, a picturesque, quiet coastal…
Big Brother is watching me
About six months ago I was contacted by Big Brother Watch, the civil liberties campaign group, and asked if I…
Low life
Feeling lucky always, I assumed that chemotherapy would be the piece of cake that some had predicted for me. They…
Aussie life
What white Anglo male over the age of 50 can honestly say they’ve never worn a Nazi uniform? When I…
Language
The Merriam-Webster dictionary people tell me that one of the most looked-up words on their website recently has been ‘archnemesis’…
How to not drink
I have just finished a sojourn with a curious twist. Readers of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain will remember Hans…
London falling
The recent debate around ‘levelling up’ may be missing something. I would argue that there is another way to consider…
A shed of one’s own
Two and a half years ago, I wrote a column about how I’d started sleeping in my garden office. No,…
Real life
‘No way am I having it now,’ said a friend, as she insisted on discussing the latest scare stories. And…
