Life
Nothing gets rid of friends like the breakdown of a marriage
Kenya An unexpected subplot in the ending of my marriage has been the loss of dear old friends. It came…
The glorious weirdness of Christmas in Thailand
Bangkok Christmas in Thailand is one of the strangest festivities of the modern world. A country that is almost entirely…
On the trail of the White Lady
As we reached the top of the hill and saw the view in front of us my heart thumped so…
How I met Jeremy
In the early 2000s, academics, philosophers, politicians, members of the royal household and business people – including the CEO and…
I’m a Christmas pudding convert
I used to be a Christmas pudding denier. I couldn’t see the attraction of a dense pudding made mostly of…
Aussie life
Like mansplaining and body hair, the ability to hold and express conflicting opinions is probably something most people would hesitate…
Language
In the NSW parliament Premier Minns referred to another member as ‘mate’. Then an opposition member got up and took…
A poignant and perfect send-off
We knew the church would be packed as Shelley had died so young. We knew the church would be freezing,…
A right royal travesty: Lilibet’s reviewed
Elizabeth II was a god and a commodity: now she is gone it is time for posthumous exploitation. Lilibet’s is…
Dear Mary: How do I avoid getting shown up by a more chivalrous bachelor?
Q. My godfather, who has managed to get me a valuable internship in the Far East, has also sent me…
My House of Lords dinner disaster
It was just a straightforward dinner in the bosom of the House of Lords, talking to members of the Jockey…
The power of tear pressure
The smashed pick-up truck was delivered back to us after I burst into tears and began wailing at the recovery…
Ben Stokes’s run-in with Aggers
There’s tetchy, and then there’s Ben Stokes ‘tetchy’ – pulling out his mic and stomping off cursing, or so I’m…
Spectator Competition: Frankenpoem
Comp. 3428 was inspired by Rose Ruane’s Larkin/Shelley mash-up (many thanks to Bill Greenwell for flagging this up): They Oz…
Juries are defenders of free speech
On Tuesday, David Lammy announced in parliament that a bill would be included in the next King’s Speech restricting the…
Aussie life
Lock up your babies, Brisbane; the Queensland government is considering lifting its ban on keeping dingos as pets. I had…
Language
There is an expression that is now quite common in America, although I don’t think I’ve heard it used in…
Could a degree make you less employable?
A few years ago my employer, the advertising agency Ogilvy, introduced a recruitment scheme called ‘The Pipe’. It was a…
