Life
My parents prefer the NHS to me
The US marine left his long johns down the back of an armchair and the next guest complained that she…
Drinking with The Chemist – and God
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna The closest I get to a social life these days is when I sneak off into town…
Aussie life
Harpy. Shrew. Harridan. Virago. Vixen. Hellcat. Scold. Fishwife. Fury. The English language has no shortage of words for belligerent and…
Language
We are still at the beginning of 2025, but Brendan O’Neill has already named his ‘most irritating phrase of the…
The best way to approach sake
We were discussing civilisation, as one does, and its relationship with cuisine. Pasta in Italy, paella in Spain, the roast…
Has email destroyed decision-making?
The discourse around ‘flexible working’ has degenerated into a narrow debate over whether people come into the office on three…
Dear Mary: Should I admit to being a Donald Trump supporter?
Q. This may sound ridiculous but I have an issue with the Big Issue seller near me. I am in…
‘Loved ones’ are everywhere at this time of year
‘My heart will melt in your mouth,’ said my husband gallantly, unwrapping some leeks from a copy of the Sun…
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…
