Life
The inner secrets of Rory McIlroy
It’s easy to be sceptical about top sportsmen turning to psychologists for help. A bit precious, no? After all, what’s…
How do you make a tart that doesn’t really exist?
There are few things more delicious than falling down a rabbit hole. No, don’t worry, I’m not serving up a…
‘An adequate meal for a Cornish giant’: Brasserie Angelica reviewed
Brasserie Angelica is the – is the word signature? – restaurant inside the Newman, Fitzrovia, a new hotel that has…
Zack Polanski’s plan to abolish the Grand National
Having trained the runner-up in the Grand National twice – and once in the Topham Chase for good measure –…
Dear Mary: how can I interrupt a gossipy friend who won’t shut up?
Q. I went to a party last weekend and my father asked me to go and introduce myself if I…
Is my plumber right about Armageddon?
The plumber was shouting hysterically at me down the phone because I had asked him to install a heated towel…
2748: What’s in a name?
The unclued lights are linked to the title, two using the same thematic content. Across 11 Search volunteer army among…
My lesson in misery from an anti-AI march
Automation is about to take over the world, apparently. But the fightback has begun. On a cold, blowy day a…
Does Jolyon Maugham have any self-doubt?
I was leaving the CNN presidential election night party at dawn in 2016, having celebrated Donald Trump’s victory, when Paul…
Spectator Competition: Bring up the bodies
For Competition 3445 you were invited to provide a sonnet to a previously overlooked body part.In a stellar week –…
Aussie life
‘You’ve come a long way, baby,’ said the slogan which positioned Virginia Slims as the cigarette for the emancipated American…
Language
It was one hundred years ago this year that the great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova toured Australia and New Zealand…
White port is the new G&T
Spring is here and, as the garden blooms, readers might find themselves reaching for the Pink Diesel to enjoy in…
The perils of being a coffee snob
It was when I was staying recently with the Frums in D.C. that, for a dizzying moment, I thought my…
Is a ‘link-up’ a modern ‘flash mob’?
The public disturbances in Clapham, achieved by social media link-ups, have their precedents. ‘You can imagine what an exhilarating week…
The cattle rustlers have returned
Kenya When a mob of Somali cattle I bought in Kenya’s far north arrived on the farm in February, we…
How far would I go for oil?
The oil delivery man had way too much swagger and, as he waved his nozzle about, I realised that he…
Dear Mary: how can I tell a friend she has Mounjaro face?
Q. Like many women of a certain age, I’m ‘on the pen’. I’ve lost about 20lb on Mounjaro, which I…
