Hoping for the best
In Competition No. 3281, you were invited to provide 16 lines of cheerful welcome to 2023 in the metre of…
Maths problems
Recently Chinese 11-year-olds faced the following question in a maths exam. ‘If a ship has 26 sheep and ten goats…
Vicarious celebrations
I am occasionally teased. In a column devoted to drink, which in practice usually means wine and often the products…
The trans rights conflict doesn’t add up
Last week, the Office for National Statistics published the data on gender identity in England and Wales, as revealed in…
The clippings and sweepings of Soviet history
Topiary is the art of making something be something it wasn’t. This is achieved by subtraction. By clipping away everything…
Are we kidding ourselves over Ukraine?
Optimism can be surprisingly hilarious. In my last novel, two spouses agree to quit the planet once they’ve both turned…
If only Harry took after his grandfather
Do you remember the Duke of Edinburgh awards? Some of you may even have one somewhere. An award for map-reading,…
The magic of Veterans’ Chase Day
Like most people in racing I began 2023 down in the dumps, moaning about insufficient prize money, small fields and…
My deliriously happy primary school days
I remember my first day at South Benfleet County Primary School with rare clarity. My mother left me at the…
