Life
The real cost of the bureaucratic mindset
If you ever want to drive online commenters insane, all you need do is write an article headlined ‘Why it’s…
Dear Mary: how can I shut down my husband’s screaming yawns?
Q. I run a busy company with a workforce of 150, where I need to have short, to-the-point discussions with…
Me, myself and the i
Misuse of myself ‘should be a capital offence’, suggests Oliver Duff, the editor of the i Paper. ‘As reflexive pronouns,…
I broke my phone… and then the repairman
The man in the phone repair shop smiled all too confidently and told me that there was nothing I could…
When did gyms become so unfriendly?
One of the drawbacks of being on the jabs is that you can lose muscle mass as well as body…
Spectator Competition: Love is…
For Competition 3436 you were invited to submit a poem whose first line is ‘O my love is like [fill…
Puzzling it out
‘This is why you don’t do puzzles, kids,’ drawled Magnus Carlsen, after a lucky escape in a recent blitz game…
Aussie life
According to a Tokyo University study of dogs, we can disregard the usual male-female stereotypes, as their research shows boy…
Language
Recently on Mammamia.com Emily Vernem and Holly Wainwright complained about the rise of what they call ‘dawn culture’. They complain…
How to cope with losing: a trainers’ guide
When the celebrations are kicking off in the winners’ enclosure, I dare say being a racehorse trainer looks glamorous. But…
Don’t write off Wales just yet
My friend Tim Andrew has admirable priorities. When I told him I had tickets for this week’s Six Nations opener…
Do only bitches bitch?
‘How many letters?’ asked my husband, as though it were a crossword we were doing together. ‘Five,’ I replied. ‘Begins…
‘Beloved by Chinese tourists – and the Labour party’: Phoenix Palace reviewed
The exterior of the Phoenix Palace is cream with golden letters like the napkin and the Laffer curve, and it…
Has Ireland’s tourist board just killed my Airbnb?
The estate agent said that they would send someone round tomorrow and I had to calm them down. Come in…
I embarrassed myself at Jilly Cooper’s memorial
I am ‘sharing’ what follows as a public service. Also, as self-care in the hope that publicly shaming myself might…
Spectator Competition: Veg out
Competition 3435 invited you to write a poem that included Wendy Cope’s immortal line ‘A happier cabbage you never did…
Dear Mary: How can I persuade a friend to stop allowing her dog to lick her plate?
Q. My grandson has just failed his driving test for the fifth time and yet I know, from his chauffeuring…
