Life
Christmas with my brother
Ever since I was a child, I’ve associated Christmas with my mentally disabled brother Chris. Technically, he’s my half-brother —…
This food needs a little less grandeur, and a little more love: Simpson’s in the Strand reviewed
Simpson’s in the Strand stopped serving breakfast in 2017, after it had been renovated to stop it smelling of cabbage.…
Technological progress is as messy as Darwinian evolution
There is a famous chart which shows the time it took for various technologies to be adopted by 50 million…
Christmas without God in the Appalachians
Christmas: without being grand and Proustian, this is a season when time present inevitably takes one back to time past.…
Dear Mary, from Joan Collins: How do I stop fans asking for selfies in the powder room?
From Dame Joan CollinsQ. Invariably, when I escape to the ladies’ room or powder room or restroom (whatever the current…
What were the words that defined 2019?
‘Come off it,’ said my husband when I told him that upcycling was the word of the year. His response…
Christmas quiz – the answers
They said it 1. Greta Thunberg (to the UN) 2. The Duke of York 3. Dawn Butler, as the shadow secretary…
Inside Labour’s post-election PLP meeting – ‘We lost the f—ing election’
The first meeting of the parliamentary Labour party since the party’s disastrous election defeat began with a round of applause.…
My friend Margaret Thatcher
By the time you read this it will all be over, but will it? I’ve had a bad feeling all…
Smoking opium with Mr Nazim – and a gecko
‘I used to go to India for a few months every year. A couple of times we even drove there.…
Our local Tory candidate’s leaflet was the most disturbing of them all
‘Oh, it’s you!’ said the builder boyfriend to the Tory MP in his shooting jacket, as he made his way…
Bridge
These days, young people expect to learn new skills online, for free. So how do we introduce a new generation…
Ding’s wings
Ding Liren, from China, was a convincing winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, which reached its climax in London…
no. 584
White to play. Aronian–Carlsen, December 2019. Carlsen won the third-place playoff, but Aronian found a nice finish in this game.…
Dear Santa
In Competition No. 3128 you were invited to submit letters to Santa written in the style of the author of…
2438: Shining bright
One clued solution (which solvers must highlight) can be linked with eleven unclued solutions, (one in the plural). Brewer confirms…
to 2435: A Little Puzzle
Unclued lights are DWARFS. First prize Bill Stewart, LeicesterRunners-up Mark Roberts, Luxembourg;John Bartlett, Solihull Got something to add? Join the…
How could any woman fail to be won over by my new cinema room?
As Christmas approaches, fighting has broken out in the Young household. No, I’m not talking about my three boys, aged…
The Battle for Britain
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Only now are we seeing what an extraordinary figure Bob Willis was
Maybe it’s just an age thing, but the death of Bob Willis has left me — and, I am sure,…
Dear Mary: What can we do about our son’s girlfriend’s appalling table manners?
Q. My son has a girlfriend who we like but who has appalling table manners. They come to stay most…
Sumptuous, remote – and forgettable: Locket’s reviewed
Locket’s is a new café from the owners of Wiltons in Jermyn Street. Wiltons is the restaurant that dukes visit…
Where did ‘aconite’ spring from?
‘What,’ asked my husband teasingly, by way of an early Christmas game, ‘connects wolf’s-bane with Woolwich Arsenal?’ It took me…
The TV show that rots young minds
How can I phrase it without sounding pompous? When very talented people dine together, it sometimes turns into a contest…
Hell is an expat dinner party
I just don’t understand it. Emigrating from Britain to France is a big step. Shifting from one culture to another…
