Life
Language
John writes: ‘Here’s a curly one for you, Kel: what about the word Islam? It seems a strange word. Can…
My heated argument about Italy’s birthrate
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna We were having dinner in the Osteria del Tempo Perso (The Hostelry of Lost Time). It is…
My fellow drinkers feel pity for Peter Mandelson
We had gathered to discuss wine, but lesser topics intervened. During the Suez crisis, Clarissa Eden complained that it seemed…
Spectator Competition: Critics amass
Comp. 3446 invited you to write a critic’s review of a fictional pub or restaurant or hotel etc. I bit…
Americans think they want the ‘real Ireland’. They don’t
As the first Americans of the season got out of their car I scrunched up my face and groaned. ‘They’re…
Dear Mary: should guests offer to reimburse me for charging their electric car at my house?
Q. I’m an artist and work from home painting people’s pets from photographs. While working I take a lot of…
The BBC’s shameful treatment of Top Cat
Films nowadays often come with warning of ‘smoking’, ‘partial nudity’, ‘drug use’ or something called ‘language’ (presumably to prevent alarming…
The American dream is dying. Good
The American dream is dying, according to the Times. To mark the US’s 250th anniversary, the paper commissioned YouGov to…
Language
‘Hypocorism’ is another strange and wonderful word (hip-OCK-ah-riz-um.) The Oxford’s definition is: ‘pet name’. But there is a bit more…
Aussie life
St Arnaud is a tiny speck on the map of Australia. The western Victorian town is surrounded by farmland and…
The inner secrets of Rory McIlroy
It’s easy to be sceptical about top sportsmen turning to psychologists for help. A bit precious, no? After all, what’s…
How do you make a tart that doesn’t really exist?
There are few things more delicious than falling down a rabbit hole. No, don’t worry, I’m not serving up a…
‘An adequate meal for a Cornish giant’: Brasserie Angelica reviewed
Brasserie Angelica is the – is the word signature? – restaurant inside the Newman, Fitzrovia, a new hotel that has…
Zack Polanski’s plan to abolish the Grand National
Having trained the runner-up in the Grand National twice – and once in the Topham Chase for good measure –…
Dear Mary: how can I interrupt a gossipy friend who won’t shut up?
Q. I went to a party last weekend and my father asked me to go and introduce myself if I…
Is my plumber right about Armageddon?
The plumber was shouting hysterically at me down the phone because I had asked him to install a heated towel…
