Chef’s Notebook
I’d never have thought I’d be good at doing nothing. Or rather walking the dogs, loafing in the sun, trying…
Dear Mary
Q. I own a small, somewhat shabby and antiquated but well-located flat in central London which I have been happy…
Robot Wars
Twenty years ago, I was an avid fan of the cult TV programme Robot Wars. Teams of contestants would design…
to 2457: Beginning
Unclued lights suggested a section of the international radio communications alphabet: Bravo (VILLAIN: 6), Charlie (DIMWIT: 16), Delta (DEPOSIT: 19),…
Real life
We went on our first outing, to the beach at Littlehampton, but I’m not sure it was as stress-relieving as…
Puzzle no. 607
White to play, Stockfish–AllieStein, TCEC Season 16. Stockfish found a beautiful knockout blow in this game against a different neural…
And end to decent dying
From 22 March 1986: They used to say that war is the ruin of serious soldiering. Too much disorder, too…
Bridge
When did we change from being a nation of curtain-twitching old biddies into one of full-on super-snitches? First a retired…
Usefulness before justice
When the PM’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, was discovered to have made his fateful journey to Durham during lockdown, there…
Low life
Saturday night we ate outside next to the floodlit rock face. Four adult guests came puffing up the path and…
Allen key
A Rainy Day in New York is Woody Allen’s 49th film and it’s not been without its troubles. When accusations…
Time to call a terrorist a terrorist and ban Hezbollah in full
Last month, the German government took the principled decision to ban the entire Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and designate it…
Sources: New York Times not telling the truth about Tom Cotton op-ed
The revolution is eating itself at the New York Times. After the Times ran Sen. Tom Cotton’s call for using the National Guard…
America’s 2.5 million jobs miracle
The US economy created 2.5 million jobs last month — the biggest monthly jobs gain since records began a century…
Don’t compare America’s riots to Hong Kong
As soon as the unrest began in Minneapolis, the inevitable comparisons with Hong Kong began. We saw throngs of masked…
Virtue-signaling isn’t courage
It is completely understandable for African Americans to be outraged at yet another death of a black man by overly…
New study suggests Covid infections were falling before lockdown
When lockdown was first imposed, there was little science to base it on. The virus was assumed to be growing…
The civil war inside the New York Times
After the New York Times published an op-ed written by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton – calling for the military to be…
White opportunism matters
Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Gatecrashers. Extinction Rebellion gatecrashers. Look at the latest email from Mother…
Hungary offers a lesson in crying wolf on ‘transphobia’
Transphobia is a word thrown around far too easily. But Hungary’s move to end legal recognition of trans people really is something to…
“They’re everywhere, those Hi-Vis Guys, polishing up to stay alive.”
Somewhere in a Melbourne suburban street near you, someone in an orange Hi-Vis vest is polishing a lamppost with disinfectant…
After too many wasted weeks, our schools need a focus on literacy and numeracy
School students are now almost entirely back to regular classes, but the battle isn’t yet won. What should students be doing once they return to…
