Life
The delights of Spanish wine – and art
First, an apology. In my last column, I appeared to be saying that good champagne does not age. This must…
What’s the different between ‘while’ and ‘whilst’?
‘Why is whilst only ever used in letters?’ asked my husband, casting aside an argumentative letter from his sister written…
![[Photo: debyaho]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2Novhighlife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
Alcohol is the perfect cure for deafness
New York A busy ten days, or nights rather, with some heroic drinking thrown in for good measure. Hangovers…
My journey to the heart of prehistoric England
‘Can I get a taxi around here?’ The man standing behind the counter of the convenience store looked at the…
![[Photo: middelveld]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2Novreallife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
I’m getting another horse — but it’s not for me
Sitting on the train to Surrey, I was halfway home and texted the builder boyfriend to say when I would…
![Tiny Rowland, 1991 [Business Collection/Shutterstock]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2Novwildlife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
The man with the inside story on Tiny Rowland
Kenya At his house on Kenya’s coast our neighbour Paul Spicer kept a photograph of himself as quite a…
Bridge
Peter Fredin may not be the best bridge player in the world, but he gets my vote for the most…
Seizing the moment
‘If the ball came loose from the back of the scrum, which it won’t of course…,’ said Boris, about his…
no. 578
White to play. Dahl-Kolbus; Isle of Man, 2019. In this game between two Manx players, White had promoted a pawn…
Much have I travelled
In Competition No. 3122, to mark the demise of the 178-year-old travel company, you were invited to submit a poem…
2432: Getting dry
Unclued lights (one of two words) give an event, its organiser, some participants, its winners, and the prizes. Across…
to 2429: Homo
The unclued lights are linked with MAN (at 7A). AXE and AGE were also allowed at 40A. Thanks to various…
Universities don’t need to be lectured about racism
I’ve been contacted by a professor at a leading Russell Group university who is worried about the spread of progressive…
The Battle for Britain
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Seven things we’ve learned from the rugby World Cup
New Zealanders can teach the world a lot about sportsmanship. Steve Hansen after last Saturday’s All Blacks defeat by England…
Dear Mary: Is my brother being gaslighted by his boss?
Q. My brilliant brother, who graduated last year, could find nowhere to live in London so we were all delighted…
Stringfellows for the sex robot age: Bob Bob Cité reviewed
Bob Bob Cité is a restaurant dangling like testicles from the underside of the Leadenhall Building in the City of…
Why are artlessly ambiguous headlines called ‘crash blossoms’?
‘Hospitals named after sandwiches kill five,’ ran a headline in the Times in June. When it was tweeted by the…
![Angourie Rice, who stars in Bruce Beresford’s 2018 film Ladies in Black [Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/26Octhighlife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
The most uplifting film ever made
New York Should art mirror the world as it is, or does an artist fail the public if the…
![Friedrich Nietzche [Photo: Roger-Viollet/Shutterstock]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/26Octlowlife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
The divine comedy of Friedrich Nietzsche
I’ve come back to the empty house for the second time in the six weeks since my mother died. The…
![[Photo: Alasdair Thomson]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/26Octreallife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
Was our nut-infested plane a death trap?
‘This is your captain speaking, welcome aboard this flight to London Gatwick. As there is a passenger on our flight…
Bridge
A couple of weeks ago two of the most prestigious events in the bridge nutter’s diary took place on the…
Great sacrifices
Impelled by his engineer’s mindset, the former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik wrote a short essay to answer a simple question:…
no. 577
Black to play. From Stepanov–Romanovsky, Lenin-grad 1926. Stepanov resigned two moves earlier, seeing that he would soon lose his queen.…
Going concern
In Competition No. 3121 you were invited to submit a song entitled ‘50 Ways to Leave the White House’. …
