Life
It is glorious at Goodwood
If I get to choose where to spend my last day on earth it will probably be at Glorious Goodwood.…
High life
Gstaad I am looking out of my window at the green landscape and forested mountains rising beyond, as peaceful a…
Low life
Le tout Torquay was there, cramming into the Princess Theatre with a drink in each hand ten minutes after the…
Real life
With a heavy heart, I have just conducted my biannual lying session. I hate that I have to do this.…
Long life
For a politician to draw attention to his own deficiencies is a desperate attempt to curry favour with the electorate…
Bridge
The brilliant American bridge writer and former world champion Eddie Kantar once overheard two wives in his bridge class arguing…
Treasure Island
As I write, young Jonathan Hawkins has stormed into the lead in the British Championship in Aberystwyth with the tremendous…
no. 325
White to play. This position is from Rogers-Milos, Manila Olympiad 1992. White is a mass of material down but the…
Hidden talent
In Competition No. 2858 you were invited to imagine that a well-known figure from 20th-century history was a secret poet…
2173: Men of note
The unclued lights are of a specific kind. Across 11 Top flier backs help for sloth (6)…
to 2170: Hector’s summer nights
The unclued lights are the titles of the six movements of Nuits d’Eté (Summer Nights in translation) by Hector Berlioz:…
A noble tradition of benign neglect
I spent last weekend at Port Eliot in Cornwall. This is supposed to be a literary and music festival and…
Battle for Britain
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Holiday kit – should it stay or should it go?
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
Dear Mary
Q. At a drinks or a dinner party, when very attentive waiters are hovering, I tend to let them keep…
Bedside manners
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
Mrs
I don’t much care for being called Wordsworth. Oh, the name is rather distinguished, though it came from my husband,…
Bedside manners
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
Holiday kit – should it stay or should it go?
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
High life
One event I regretted missing on my last visit to London was a party at the Polish Club, which has…
Low life
‘Oscar!’ cried Miss Herd as I arrived. She was standing at the classroom door releasing her charges one by one…
Real life
As a rule, I tend not to frequent places where there is a sign on the door saying ‘no sharps’.…
Long life
If I haven’t mentioned my poultry for a while, it’s because the subject has been too depressing. I had been…
An eye for quality
Through a stormy July weekend our task was to prevent four feisty grandchildren from murdering or mutilating each other before…
Bridge
Richard Selway was one of the first friends I made in the bridge world. Long-standing ‘host’ at TGR’s, he was…
