Life
Bridge | 8 February 2025
I wish I’d been at the teams event held last week by the World Bridge Tour in Reykjavik. The sights,…
The trouble with criminalising ‘Islamophobia’
When I first heard that Angela Rayner had been tasked with creating an advisory council that will draw up an…
My memorable ride in a Black Hawk
The pilot of the Black Hawk told me I could recline the seat if I wasn’t comfortable. ‘Oh, great!’ I…
Good portraiture can reveal uncomfortable truths
My eldest daughter and her family are moving from a three-bedroom Art Deco semi with a garden and garage on…
The time-poor woman’s perfect chocolate cake
Isn’t it awful that the older you get, the more you know yourself? It’s supposed to be a good thing,…
Aussie life
Like many public-facing organisations trying to have their zeitgeist and eat it, the Australia Institute is getting down with ‘youff’. They’ve…
Language
I’ve been intrigued recently by the verb ‘to unsee’. It turns up as a trendy way of saying that something…
Is a soul the only thing unavailable in Harrods?
The Harrods bookshop, which I browse for masochistic reasons, is mesmerising: an homage to the lure of ownership. The first…
Can anyone stop France in the Six Nations?
Winter’s almost done and spring’s on the way. We can tell because the Six Nations is about to muscle into…
From the army to Folly House: the story of Jamie Snowden
It is around 3 a.m. in Northern Ireland in the early 2000s as two British soldiers share a dank ditch…
What I can’t tell you about Lamu
Lamu Ever since we arrived on the syrupy, sweltering Swahili coast – where else would your Best Life columnist be…
Beware this terrible new AI email feature
A friend of mine got a nasty shock last week after a Google Meet call, thanks to a new AI…
My turbulent flight with the hen do crew
‘Oggy oggy oggy!’ shouted the Italian flight attendant over his intercom, and all the hen party ladies on the plane…
Aussie life
The public shaming of elite pole vault coach Alex Parnov reminds me of the time I was sent to cover…
