Bridge
The bridge world is experiencing an explosion of junior talent and enthusiasm. One of the very best is Sweden’s Sanna…
Truss is hurting the free-market cause
In theory, I should be delighted about the Liz Truss project. She is saying the things I’ve been arguing for…
Isolating with the ex
Elizabeth Strout’s fourth book about Lucy Barton comes on the heels of Oh William!, shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize.…
Is Credit Suisse the tornado on the banking horizon?
Headlines about ‘alarm over CreditSuisse’ might be read as a sign of normality in financial news, rather than the reverse.…
Real life
A cleverly worded email has arrived from British Gas to explain why, despite the Prime Minister’s announcement, my gas and…
Cries and whispers
Place and story are little remembered now. The rectory in Essex was severely damaged by fire in 1939. But any…
Queen’s favourite
In Competition No. 3269, you were invited to write a poem about Her late Majesty’s favourite things. Alongside the more…
Things can always get worse
As I was saying, way back in July, it is hard to love the Conservative party. Every time it tries…
Is Russell Brand really so dangerous?
Once the dust has settled over the government’s mini-Budget, another big political battle looms: the Online Safety Bill. This is…
Giving up smoking was an absolute doddle
I gave up smoking one year ago this week, as part of a series of pitiful capitulations to the forces…
Recherché reading
Most readers have favourite books or authors they feel have been either forgotten or unjustly neglected. R.B. Russell, an assiduous…
Pop
The Guardian kindly tells us that green is a colour whose time has come: ‘A blazer or a cotton shirt…
Solution to 2573
The preamble referred to ten symmetrically placed unclued entries which spell out CURRENT PUZZLE NUMBER HAS PRIME FACTORS: THIRTY-ONE, EIGHTY-THREE.…
English rugby needs rescuing
Make no mistake: the game of rugby, which many of us love so much, is in serious trouble: it will…
Girls compete
Judit Polgar, the strongest female player of all time, conducted an enchanting interview in the commentary room during the Chennai…
Rishi by Christmas?
What was supposed to be a recovery moment for the Conservatives instead looks like a collective nervous breakdown. The Prime…
The Spectator’s Notes
Thought for the Day appears every morning on BBC Radio 4. This preachy slot is hallowed by longevity, if not…
Pig heaven
Labour is 30 points ahead, and in honour of this I review the Impeccable Pig in Sedgefield (Cedd’s field), a…
Vital statistics
In a week of slim audio pickings, I spent time reacquainting myself with some of the BBC classics and can…
Bones of contention
The Lost King is a comedy-drama based on the 2012 discovery of the remains of King Richard III beneath a…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. As a novice user of Instagram I was flattered at how quickly I gathered followers – 200 already. Many…
After the fall
Clunk, clunk, clunk. John Gabriel Borkman opens with the obsessive footfalls of a disgraced banker as he prowls the attic…
