Life
My sober assessment of the fat jabs
It was my friend Alex who tipped me the wink. I bumped into him at a party earlier this year…
Are Reeves and Starmer really in ‘lockstep’?
‘She and I work together, we think together,’ said Sir Keir Starmer of Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.…
Wine to pass the cricket Test
What to drink while watching cricket? Beer or even Pimm’s for the village green, but I think that a Test…
Are my cattle ready to compete?
Kenya My cattle sensei Mark revealed that my Boran bulls aren’t gaining enough masculine growth after weaning because they’re only…
UzChess Cup
The team of young talents from Uzbekistan, who sensationally won gold at the Chennai Olympiad in 2022, continue to develop…
My night at the Spectator summer party
The first rule of the summer party is do not hold your summer party on the same night as The…
Our B&B has found its niche
A rattling noise woke me in the dead of night and I fumbled my way into the dark corridor. It…
Spectator Competition: Between the lines
For Competition 3407 you were invited to write about a historical event euphemistic-ally. This challenge was a little vague; Private…
Salad cream is more than a poor man’s mayonnaise
Salad cream makes me feel oddly patriotic. It’s one of those products that is so distinctively British that it has…
Aussie life
Tony Abbott has written Australia, a personal take on our history, focused on the positives. But this is a mug’s…
Language
A short time ago I was chatting with the former deputy prime minister of Australia John Anderson about the sort…
‘This is as good as food gets in London’ – Town, in Drury Lane, reviewed
Town – well-named, it has vitality – is on the ragged part of Drury Lane WC2 near the Majestic Wine…
Spectator Competition: Problematic
For Competition 3406 you were invited to cast a well-known fictional or non-fictional character, living or dead, in the role…
The politics of pips
‘What larks!’ exclaimed my husband archly, assuming that a connection between personal independence payments and Pip in Great Expectations would…
Ofcom still isn’t sure what a woman is
Earlier this week, GB News again found itself at odds with Ofcom. The channel had written to the broadcast regulator…
State-school cricket at Lord’s? Bring it on
A state-school cricket competition announced last week with a final at Lord’s is such a good idea you wonder why…
‘Boldness was his friend in betting and in life’: A tribute to the great Barry Hills
I have always enjoyed Royal Windsor Racecourse, as it styles itself. It may not have quite so many dignitaries popping…
Will the Irish ever forgive the English?
Leaving home is the best way to find out who you are. In my case, it’s a muddle. Welsh dad.…
