Life
Bring back vermouth hour
In the vermuterias of downtown Palma, locals talk of little other than ‘totality’. That is, the moment on 12 August,…
Dear Mary: how can I wangle a private jet invitation?
Q. Mary, can you rule on an aspect of private jet etiquette? I have been invited to a house party…
Who cares if cricketers drink?
Cricketers Have Beer, Shock: well, who knew! This wretched incident in some joint in Chelsea involving Ben Stokes and Gus…
Why gentlemen relish Kemi
As seen in the Telegraph Two thoughts on the sad and controversial death of Henry Nowak. The first is about…
Grab bags are up for grabs
My husband’s task was a simple one: to buy a couple of bottles of water from the Morrisons opposite the…
Spectator Competition: The secret is…
Competition 3453 invited you to describe a new, infallible personal regime that promised to make one healthy, rich and irresistible.…
Aussie life
In pre-internet 1980s Australia, maintaining long-distance relationships in real time was so expensive that for expats like me the decade’s…
Language
A report in Perspectives on Psychological Science last April said that people are each speaking about 120,000 fewer words every…
Spectator Competition: All kicking off
Competition 3452 invited you to write an ode to the World Cup. The entries flew in and many of them…
Once we Brexiteers get our Irish passports, we can go anywhere
‘There’s a flat rat under the mat!’ I shrieked, and wondered whether that was the sort of jaunty phrase that…
Variety is the spice of evolutionary life
I would have enjoyed mathematics more at school if I’d known what the real value was. The benefit of studying…
MPs don’t drink enough
The heatwave no sooner ended than it was replaced by the Mandywave. Over the next few days, it may be…
My new job at the Amazon packing factory
What will you do if it all goes wrong? I have a back-up plan. Working for Amazon. Its Luton warehouse…
Know your facepalm from your headslap
‘That’s not a facepalm,’ said my husband. ‘It’s a headslap.’ He proved the point by making contact between the flat…
Dear Mary: how do I stop friends buying me pet-themed presents?
Q. I have been working in a large restaurant alongside a very attractive, although shy, girl. I live near the…
