Life
Size matters
‘I don’t want to seem unromantic,’ said Mrs Oakley as St Valentine’s Day approached, ‘but this year please don’t buy…
Once upon a time I was very proud to be Greek. But no more
Gstaad A naked, very good-looking young man skied down the mountain evoking shrieks of laughter and admiration from the hundred…
The day an ancient and very wonderful sport died
Last week was the tenth anniversary of the last running of the English hare-coursing classic, the Waterloo Cup. I shan’t…
My request to see my medical notes has sparked all-out panic at my GP surgery
My request to see my medical notes has sparked all-out panic at the GP surgery. ‘What do you mean?’ said…
You can’t force low-income people to go to an art gallery or the theatre if they don’t want to
I went last week to see the justly praised production of Wagner’s The Mastersingers at English National Opera, and I…
Bridge
Bridge players never get bored of each other’s company for one simple reason: interesting hands are like juicy bits of…
Gnomic
The elite tournament at Zurich, which finished last week, has adopted a system for determining the ultimate trophy winner which…
No. 351
White to play. This position is from Nakamura-Karjakin, Zurich classic 2015. White’s knight seems trapped but he can rescue it…
Londoner’s Diary
In Competition No. 2886 you were invited to submit a Pepys’-eye view of modern life. Pepys’s candid and minutely observed…
2200
The unclued Down lights (individually or as a pair) are of a kind in short, as are the unclued Across…
To 2197: Missing
The unclued lights are some of the words highlighted in Chambers 2011 which were unfortunately omitted from the 2014 edition…
If you think Britain’s corrupt now, watch what happens if we ban second jobs for MPs
Last year, I had an exchange with Hugo Rifkind on Twitter in which I bet him dinner at Clarke’s that…
Battle for Britain
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Want more diversity? Hire groups, not individuals
If I were to give you a budget to choose your perfect house, you would quickly have a clear idea…
Dear Mary: How can I lie about my age and still use my Senior Railcard?
Q. I was not brought up in England and don’t appear in Who’s Who. This means that there is no…
France, England and the tragedy of DSK
When we consider poets who perished before their day, thoughts turn to the Romantics or the war victims: Burns, Keats,…
‘Robust’, busted
‘Heart of Oak are our ships, Jolly Tars are our men,’ shouted my husband unconvincingly. He has taken to doing…
A divided inheritance
When we consider poets who perished before their day, thoughts turn to the Romantics or the war victims: Burns, Keats,…
Going the wrong way one step at a time
If I were to give you a budget to choose your perfect house, you would quickly have a clear idea…
The future was looking bleak for a poor little Greek Boy who had turned 30, but then I met Arnaud de Borchgrave
I hate to start with a cliché, but Count Arnaud de Borchgrave d’Altena, who died in Washington DC last week,…
This shower head should come with a health warning
This hotel is brand new. One half is a university students’ hostel, the other an apartment hotel. Car parking is…
Confessions of an insurance junkie
Never add up your insurance premiums. I just did and the annual cost of all of them came to more…
The elderly are society’s new baddies
The gulf in understanding between the old and the young has widened with the news that the young are beginning…
Why Mark and Sara Bradstock have only 12 horses is a mystery to me
Some mysteries will never be solved, like why planes and boats disappear in the Bermuda Triangle, cats always land on…
Bridge
Couples that play together stay together is not a mantra you hear too often in the bridge world. Indeed most…
