Life
Low life
On referendum day, my mother leaned on my arm for support and we walked slowly and carefully up the steps…
Low life
On referendum day, my mother leaned on my arm for support and we walked slowly and carefully up the steps…
Referendums
‘One referendum, two referenda,’ chanted my husband. ‘No, no, it’s a gerund. The English plural is referendums,’ interrupted Veronica, red…
Real life
We fled Balham after the result, having been outed as the only Leave voters in Lambeth. The builder boyfriend and…
Labour: my part in its downfall
A few weeks ago, I took part in a debate at the Cambridge Union about the future of the Labour…
Labour: my part in its downfall
A few weeks ago, I took part in a debate at the Cambridge Union about the future of the Labour…
A game of chicken with the electorate
I have worked in advertising for 28 years. In that time I have seen many briefs for communication campaigns, but…
Bridge
Congratulations — yet again — to the England women’s bridge team, who last week won gold at the European championships…
2266: 587
Around the perimeter starting at one corner run two lines of a verse (ten words). Two unclued lights give the…
To 2263: Hurry
Corrections of misprints in clues give STEP ON THE GAS, indicating the unclued lights in each of four columns in…
A new home for Old Labour
On the eve of last year’s general election result, many pundits predicted the demise of Britain’s two-party system. The likeliest…
Blessed are the goalscorers
‘I am grateful to the gaffer for the opportunity and to God for letting me score,’ said Daniel Sturridge after…
Low life
Before dashing out of the door and driving to Nice airport, I gave my eyebrows a quick trim with the…
Long life
One of my first outings while recovering from a little stroke has been to the New London Theatre in Drury…
Bridge
The 53rd European Teams Championship started last week in Budapest, 37 countries competing in an 11-day complete round robin. The…
No. 214
Black to play. This is from Caruana-Mamedyarov, Gashimov Memorial Play-off 2016. Black played 1 … Kg8 here, missing a clever…
The Battle for Britain
The post The Battle for Britain appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment…
West End churls
Cafe Monico, as if named by an illiterate playboy, is on Shaftesbury Avenue between The Curious Incident of the Dog…
High life
I always thought the Freuds a pretty sordid bunch, and after the latest revelations it seems I wasn’t far off.…
Real life
The cottage in Surrey has fallen through, for the time being at least. Maybe I am going to be a…
On the money
Forced to depart Ascot earlier than usual to fulfil a cruise lecture booking on the fjords, I hadn’t reckoned with…
Memorable Mamedyarov
Local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov won the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijan by virtue of three consecutive victories at the…
Lovelier than a tree
In Competition No. 2953 you were invited to supply a sonnet that has the name of a tree hidden in…
Your problems solved
Q. A friend’s daughter is marrying soon. She and her husband-to-be, both art-lovers, have dispensed with a wedding list, instead…
Eight hard words
I was humiliated in trying to make out the meaning of eight hard words. See how you do: claustration, edulcoration,…
