Revised Criterion
There are cursed restaurants and cursed women, and this makes them no less interesting. One is Maxim’s in Paris, which…
Corned beef pie
A few weeks ago I was at the super-market juggling a toddler, several heavy bags and, it transpired, no pound…
Bend it like Biles
Has there ever been an athlete, male or female, quite like Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time? She…
For deer life
In spite of my dodgy right hand – caused by an injury to my radial nerve – I decided to…
Pleasure principle
In Competition No. 3320 you were invited to submit a poem extolling Epicureanism over Stoicism or the other way round.…
I regret not having more children
Life doesn’t always work out perfectly. You can make the wrong decisions. You can leave things too late. I wish,…
‘Weaponising Jewish people is wrong’
Sadiq Khan on anti-Semitism, Ulez and the upcoming electoral battle
Director’s cut
The unlovely Rose Theatre in Kingston is a modest three-storey eyesore. The concrete foyer looks like an exercise area on…
The Stradivarius of models
‘What advice would you give to your younger self?’ has become a popular question in interviews in recent years. It’s…
Drunk on devotion
The intimate acoustic show can denote many things for an established artist. One is that, in the infamous euphemism coined…
Wing and a prayer
The Miracle Club, which is about a group of Irish women who travel to Lourdes, has a magnificent cast –…




