Life
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…
Somali charity scams have come at a high price
Kenya Here’s why house-hunting in Nairobi, where I can’t afford to buy even a bedsit these days, gives me flashbacks…
A Frenchman who does not drink wine is a disgrace
The world is in an even greater mess than was apparent. I am not referring to Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan or…
Dear Mary: Can I remain friends with someone who has a frozen face?
Q. A close friend of my own age, 52, has had various things done to her face and now looks…
The glory of gravy
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, when Ben Gunn is found by Jim Hawkins, sunburnt and wide-eyed after three years…
The unexpected aftermath of the BB’s car crash
The garage owner came at me with an angry expression as I pulled on to his forecourt, which was the…
The Italian approach to cheating
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna The unseasonably warm wind blowing in across the fields from the brooding Adriatic caused my wife Carla…
