Life
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. I have heard news of a forthcoming party which I would really love to attend. The problem is that…
Gorgeous George
The George, Fitzrovia, was Saki’s local, and a pub for men talking about cars when Great Portland Street was called…
Distraction
Dominic Raab blamed distraction forBoris Johnson’s woes when the Tories failed in two by-elections last week. ‘Hehas track records as…
Wild life
Kenya As late as the 1920s, it was believed that Africa’s tropical sun would boil a European’s brains. ‘The direct…
Mountains to climb
That great Frenchman the Marquis de Sade would have been justly proud of the Tour de France had he lived…
Low life
I’m looking backwards: old journals, old photographs, old notebooks. What strikes me above all is the vigour and energy I…
High life
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
Rubber bridge is a game that happens to suit me very well: you can come and go as you please…
The Battle for Britain
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Real life
‘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 turf
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: Michael Heath
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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: Your problems solved
Q. My girlfriend and I have started using a personal trainer for some joint sessions at our local gym; the…
Sea fare
One could get used to this. I come from seafaring stock, albeit distant. ‘Anderson’ suggests Viking antecedents, especially as my…
Why secondhand cars are first-rate
The Department for Transport recently ended a £1,500 subsidy towards the price of new, lower-priced electric cars one year earlier…
Bridge
At a bridge tournament about 15 years ago, I started chatting to a friendly, eccentric woman in her mid-sixties, wearing…
Low life
Nothing in the beach hotel was made of plastic. It wasn’t advertised as being a plastic-free hotel, but we noticed…
Real life
‘Do you care about the woodland? Do you care about the wildlife?’ shouted the bearded Woodland Trust volunteer from his…
Odious
Lord Geidt said in his resignationletter that he had been put in an odious position. He meant it was hateful,though…
High life
It’s nice to be back on the old continent again, especially after getting within a couple of hundred yards of…
Solution to 2558: Blonde, 78
Unclued lights were associated with JUBILEE: years (CALENDAR, SCHOOL, FINANCIAL), clips (CROCODILE,PAPER, TIE) and London underground lines (CENTRAL, CIRCLE, NORTHERN).…
