Life
High life
You know you’re old when people start writing kindly about you. Especially when they are colleagues. First Jeremy Clarke, now…
Low life
The beer garden at the back of the pub was empty, save one woman sitting alone at a table contemplating…
Real life
The builder boyfriend and I have had a terrible row. In the heat of the moment, I said something truly…
Long life
It’s filthy wet weather in Tuscany, so I’m lying on my bed in the afternoon reading through the Italian newspapers.…
Twelve to Follow
Women truly are different. Recovering in a spare bedroom from the wonders of a hip replacement (don’t ever jump on…
Bridge
Everyone over a certain age can remember the sense of shock that comes when policemen start looking like mere boys.…
Bifurcation
As predicted last week, the samurai standoff between Anand and Carlsen was swiftly shattered. After quiet draws in games one…
No. 293
Black to play. This is a variation from Anand-Carlsen; World Championship (Game 4), Chennai 2013. Anand avoided this position, although he…
Sporting double
In Competition 2824 you were invited to submit double clerihews about a well-known sporting figure past or present. The…
2140: Essex Man
Our hero must be revealed by shading six cells appropriately. Four unclued lights are key words in 11s featuring the…
to 2137: Speculation
The two words were BULL and BEAR. BULL is suggested by 36, 41, 6 and 10; BEAR by 34, 37,…
My life as a litter monitor
The think tank Policy Exchange has just published an excellent report on Britain’s urban green spaces called ‘Park Land’. The…
Dave
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Retrofitted arguments
Some people are gay. Get over it’ — this was the slogan for a campaign against homophobia. A series of YouTube…
Dear Mary
Q. A friend generously hosts an annual Christmas party in London where we see many old friends we have been…
Mineral reserves
St James’s Street is a repository of urban comfort. It contains majestic clubs, a gunsmith, a boot-maker, a barber, a…
Aunt
Catching up with the excellent biography of the 3rd Marquess of Bute (the man who built Cardiff Castle among other…
Mineral reserves
St James’s Street is a repository of urban comfort. It contains majestic clubs, a gunsmith, a boot-maker, a barber, a…
Twelve to Follow
Women truly are different. Recovering in a spare bedroom from the wonders of a hip replacement (don’t ever jump on…
Retrofitted arguments
Some people are gay. Get over it’ — this was the slogan for a campaign against homophobia. A series of YouTube…
High life
Everyone’s doing it, so I might as well jump in too. After all, I knew so many of the people…
Low life
Theresa May must have been a little disappointed. Her government limousine rolled silently to a halt at the rear entrance…
Real life
‘Do you know…?’ said the Tory MP I was sitting next to, as he tried to introduce me to the…
Long life
The police have been complaining a lot lately about frivolous calls to the emergency services. All over the country people…
Wild life
As I write this, my hands are seared and bruised from holding a hot iron after branding our cattle. We…
