Martha Kearney’s arrival at Today is a breath of fresh air
Like a breath of fresh air Martha Kearney has arrived on Radio 4’s Today programme, taking over from Sarah Montague…
The public are quite right to love Monet
Think of the work of Claude Monet and water lilies come to mind, so do reflections in rippling rivers, and…
A gripping new play with a Michael Fish-y narrative: Pressure reviewed
David Haig’s play Pressure looks at the Scottish meteorologist, James Stagg, who advised Eisenhower about the weather in the week…
Mozart died too late rather than too early. Discuss.
Glenn Gould used to say that Mozart died too late rather than too early. The remark was intended to get…
My knuckles went pure white and have yet to return to full colour: Custody reviewed
Custody is both social realism and a thriller and it’s terrific. It is smart, beautifully acted, never crass about the…
Circe has been recast as the girl next door – it’s a sign of the times
When poor old battered Odysseus landed on Circe’s island having lost all his ships (except his flagship) when he tangled…
I’ve developed a fascination for anti-terrorist security officers
A pair of anti-terrorism officers watched us check through into the boarding lounge. They stood behind the easyJet woman and…
‘See it, Say it, Sort it’ makes me want to self-harm
‘How could you forget to get on the train?’ asked the keeper. ‘I can understand how you forgot to get…
I have to concentrate pretty hard on the Flat when the Grand National hasn’t even been run
William Haggas’s Addeybb heralded the opening of the Flat season by winning the Lincoln Handicap on 24 March but I…
Bridge
I’m not saying that I want ‘She played bridge for England’ on my tombstone — but then again… Last weekend,…
Class club
The annual Hamilton-Russell competition for London Clubs has been won by the Royal Automobile Club, with the Marylebone Cricket Club…
no. 501
White to play. This is from Bluebaum-Anand, Grenke 2018. Anand has been having a rough time in the elite Grenke…
Poison pen
In Competition No. 3043 you were invited to provide a short story inspired by the Salisbury poisonings. Ian McEwan,…
2354: Pioneering
Two unclued lights form a three-word phrase. Clues in italics are cryptic indications of partial answers; in each case, the…
to 2351: Triplets
Unclued lights associated with IRIS are: flowers (2, 11, 40), Greek goddesses (10, 16, 30), and parts of the eye…
I used to think I was smarter than my wife. Not anymore
According to new research published in Advances in Physiology Education, men tend to significantly overestimate their own intelligence whereas women…
Where’s the internet revolution they promised us?
At the risk of sounding like Jean Baudrillard, I would like to suggest that the internet revolution has not yet…
Dear Mary: our son’s future in-laws want to play social oneupmanship with us
Q. We were about to send off to the printers the invitation for our son’s wedding (we agreed to do…
Too much too young: allow some wines to sleep long and peacefully
This April is the cruellest month, but not in the sense that Eliot intended. Memory and desire are mixed: memory…
Around v about: British English v American – not to mention across
Crooning is I think the word to describe what my husband was doing to the lyrics of a Beach Boys…
Those dastardly, discommodious Delcons
Remember back to the time of the coup against Tony Abbott when the great and the good (I speak loosely…
More Marxist gibberish
Paul Keating‘s obsession with turning us into some politicians’ republic is not about improving the governance of Australia, surely the…
Kiwi notes
The Socialist Ardernative New Zealand politics has thrown up some wonderful invective over the years. A favourite of mine originated…
Installation view Colours of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay
The French are sharing some of their beautiful visual heritage with us right now. At the AGNSW are the wonderful…
