All in the mind’s eye
Everyone knows what the Rorschach tests are. Like Freudian slips, boycotts, quislings and platonic friendships, however, it was long ago…
London Stock Exchange picked a bad year to join a pan-European project
The marriage of the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse may not be stone dead but that’s the way to…
The real reason Ukip are tearing each other apart
If the British establishment really wants to troll Ukip, then I suppose it ought to give Douglas Carswell a knighthood…
From now on, I’ll greet Brexiteers with a grin
I’m cheering up about Brexit. The moaning has to stop. Why be downhearted and edgy when you’re confident of your…
Bridge
February is probably the most exciting and glamorous month in the bridge calendar. A couple of weeks ago, über-sponsor Pierre…
Trump’s show of strength to Moscow
Donald Trump has not lost his capacity to surprise: few would have bet on him starting his address to Congress…
A field guide to our doomed liberal elite
The latest and perhaps most damaging accusation to be levelled at Donald Trump is that he likes his steaks well-done…
The Spectator’s Notes
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, who heads Operation Hydrant, the police investigation of ‘non-recent’ child abuse cases, now says that paedophiles…
Memory games
Poor Paul Nuttall. He seemed to have everything a cheeky by-election victor needed: the outsider vim, the accent, the cap.…
Flock horror
Pity the poor sheep. Every other animal has its champions. There are fox fanatics, dog obsessives, campaigners for cat welfare.…
Let my daughter work
Freud said ‘Love and work… work and love, that’s all there is.’ And ‘Love and work are the cornerstones of…
Star power
The ongoing war between Donald Trump and the Hollywood A-list has entered a new and unpredictable phase. Celebrity criticism of…
Dublin’s Jewish museum
I love small museums, and the Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin is a little gem, located in the neighbourhood once…
Back into battle
On 24 June last year, in the Georgian splendour of her official residence in Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square, Scotland’s First Minister…
Mr Hundred Per Cent
Nigel Short has distinguished himself by scoring 100 per cent, winning all six games, in the Bunratty tournament which finished…
no. 446
White to play. This position is from Tabatabaei-Vakhidov, Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2017. White has sacrificed a piece for a powerful…
The art of loving
In Competition No. 2987 you were invited to supply a lesson in the art of seduction in the style of…
2299: Pieces of Eight
One unclued light is the origin of the remaining unclued lights (three of two words), individually or as a pair.…
to 2296: Men of note
The unclued lights are seven COMPOSERS whose surnames begin with A to G, along with the eighth beginning with H,…
Dear Mary
My partner has become a recycling fascist. She checks everything I put into the bin. I received two bollockings today alone…
Rich desserts
Ferdi is a café in Shepherd Market; I write about it only to comfort you, because you are not rich,…
Carry on, Major
As Prime Minister, John Major was intolerant of opposition from within the Conservative party over the EU — memorably calling…
High life
Gstaad Back in the good old days a funicular used to take skiers up, bucking all the way and stopping…
Low life
All told, I find that in the last week I’ve slept with a Chinaman, three black women from the United…
