The turf
Who owns Altior? I ask because of the brouhaha over Nicky Henderson’s late withdrawal of his stable star, winner of…
2487: Birthday boys II
December 12th was the birthday of two famous men. Unclued lights (including one of five words, one of two words…
Barometer
Last orders The new tier restrictions have made life difficult for pubs. How many are closed? — According to the…
What the Dickens
In Competition No. 3178 you were invited to submit an extract from a Dickensian novel based around the name of…
Tales of war and lockdown
We were celebrating the end of lockdown by talking about war and deer stalking — over a business lunch, naturally.…
Bureaucracy is everywhere
Having grown up in a family business, my earliest exposure to corporate life was often baffling. I remember the first…
Dear Mary
Q. I am extremely fond of an artist friend, despite the fact that I have never liked her work or…
The business world has many shades between hero and villain
Separating heroes from villains in the great retail survival struggle is like spotting bent coppers in Line of Duty —…
In defence of Millwall fans
It is an enormous shame that the Millwall fans who booed their players for ‘taking a knee’ in support of…
Slow off the Marc
The Flying Lovers of Vitebskbegins with a phone conversation between a pretentious art critic and a man called Marc. This…
The price of vanity? At least £3,000
If you’re a journalist with a fondness for appearing on television — and, let’s face it, most of us are…
Mind your language
‘Try the sports pages,’ said my husband, stirring in his armchair. I was looking for examples of fortuitousused as though…
Real life
If the novelty of going for a walk doesn’t wear thin for the marauding masses soon, I am going to…
High life
Harbour Island, Bahamas A singer named Shawn Mendes recently announced to millions of his fans: ‘The truth is, it’s so…
No one wins in the race race
After the explosion of international self-abasement over George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, much theatrical soul-searching ensued. So your basic man…
Poacher turned gamekeeper
A common but flawed assumption about Joseph Ratzinger is that he is simply an ardent conservative. That’s the figure we…
Catching moths
As darkness falls, a group of mainly middle-aged men set up traps of various shapes and sizes — some sophisticated…
Memoirs without memory
James Kelman doubtless remains best known for his 1994 Booker prize win for How Late It Was, How Late and…
Letter from Albania
Our heavily laden taxi turned off the main highway from Tirana and started to negotiate the rough, one-track road. The…
Four puzzles in one
Four puzzles in one, composed by Werner Speckmann, 1963. In each case, White to play and mate in two. (a)…
Pandemic panto
This pantomime was filmed by ‘legendary Blue Peter presenter’ Peter Duncan in his back garden over the summer. It was…
Graphic reportage
One of the running jokes about ‘serious’ graphic novels is that so many seem to consist, one way and another,…
Pure genius
Of all the times and places to have been on the wrong side of history, I can’t imagine many worse…
