Life
She was Ariadne to my Theseus
My contempt for vaping deepened as vaping contraptions became more ostentatious and people started hanging them from lanyards around their…
Why ‘safe’ is Dot Wordsworth’s word of the year
‘Makes me feel sick,’ said my husband, referring not to the third mince pie of the morning (in Advent, supposedly…
My part-time boyfriend and I bonded over the Tooting Honey Toilets
A boyfriend’s for life, not just for Christmas. It’s no good me getting myself a nice cuddly man with whom…
From the dismal to the delightful: the year in sport
So long, then, to another thrilling year of sport in which the full range of human possibility — from the…
Tis the season for disagreeing with your spouse about everything
The older I get, the more Scrooge-like I become. I’m dyspeptic, misanthropic, curmudgeonly, parsimonious and unsentimental. Caroline, by contrast, is…
Tis the season for disagreeing with your spouse about everything
The older I get, the more Scrooge-like I become. I’m dyspeptic, misanthropic, curmudgeonly, parsimonious and unsentimental. Caroline, by contrast, is…
Wear The Fox Hat looks innocent enough but try saying it in an Irish accent
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s image never quite recovered in many people’s view from the photograph of him picking up his…
Wear The Fox Hat looks innocent enough but try saying it in an Irish accent
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s image never quite recovered in many people’s view from the photograph of him picking up his…
Why the greatest innovations do only one thing, but do it well
McDonald’s got rid of cutlery. Uber does not allow you to pre-book taxis. Amazon began by selling only books. Conventional…
The James Herriot of Africa
Great Rift Valley The mare hangs her head; her neck is swollen, her eyes bloody red, crammed by flies. She…
Bridge
2015 leaves many bridge players with mixed emotions. I have played in more wonderful, high-level tournaments than ever before (Iceland,…
High life
New York Things turn very frivolous around this time of year. Barf-inducing parties given by pop-culture schlock merchants selling their…
Low life
My favourite YouTube video clip this week shows a chap sitting at a desk typing. All you can see of…
Real life
Go on, they said. Go on a date. Let your friend fix you up with a nice eligible man. Nothing…
Long life
I have always found Thanksgiving, which was celebrated in the United States last week, the most agreeable and least stressful…
Bridge
If you don’t play bridge, you really should avoid gatherings of bridge players — you’ll find us excruciatingly dull. I’ve…
London Classic
The annual London Classic, inspired and organised by the indefatigable Malcolm Pein, is now underway at London’s Olympia. The website…
Chess Puzzle
White to play. This position is from Edward Lasker-Thomas, London 1912. This is one of the most famous combinations ever…
Railway rhythms
In Competition No. 2926 you were invited to submit a poem about HS2. The idea for this challenge came to…
2240: Various sources
In each of eight clues, one letter has been cut from the definition part; the cut letters spell a word…
To 2237: Experimental
The publication is 11A. Other unclued lights are all anagrams (‘new’ versions) of scientists: 14A SEABORG; 22A EINSTEIN; 23A PASTEUR;…
The politics of envy has failed
Last week I put £25 on Lady C to win I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. At 25/1,…
Battle for Britain
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The other side to the division of labour: the concentration of attention
Adam Smith’s theory on the division of labour first appeared in 1776 in The Wealth of Nations. The idea was…
Dear Mary: How to stop someone from giving my tiny children expensive clothes that they never wear?
Q. Is there a tactful way to deter certain people from buying clothing for one’s tiny children as Christmas presents?…
