My survey of bank closures suggests a new purpose for the tarnished Co-op
Many thanks to the stampede of readers who sent news of bank branch closures. There’s certainly a national pattern, and…
I went to Florida to see Disney World. What I found looked like a dying country
I’ve always sensed a whiff of sadness in Florida, perhaps because so many people go there to die. Although not…
In (conditional) defence of John Bercow
James Duddridge is not wrong. The Tory MP for Rochford and Southend East, who has put down a ‘no confidence’…
Labour’s love lost
Just as it seems that Labour has reached the bottom of the abyss, Jeremy Corbyn and his party somehow manage…
“Free speech? You can’t handle free speech.”
Australia’s race commissioner Tim Soutphommasane is taking on an Orwellian mission this week, telling members of parliament they need to keep free…
Our pols can learn a thing or two from the Kiwi cousins
Today, Malcolm Turnbull visits New Zealand for his first leaders’ meeting with Kiwi Prime Minister Bill English. Trans-Tasman trade and whether there’s a future for the…
Fatuous fallacies
I confess that my expectations when it comes to Liberal Party MPs are pretty low these days. Many of them are quite content with…
Bede and Mary’s “Battle of Ideas”
Recently, the Young Liberals put together a publication called the “Liberal Review.” It was the type of exercise youth movements…
Rodin at 100
The girl who posed for Auguste Rodin’s figure of Eve on the ‘Gates of Hell’ was, the sculptor said, a…
Cui Bono
The cause célèbre at the Tradewise tournament in Gibraltar, which finished earlier this month, was the extraordinary protest by Hou…
no. 444
White to play. This position is a variation from Hou Yifan-Ju, Gibraltar 2017. Hou lost this game to her compatriot.…
Trigger point
In Competition No. 2985 you were invited to provide a poetic preview of the day Article 50 is triggered. …
American English
Ralph’s Coffee & Bar is in the Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store on Regent Street. It is rare that fashion…
Labour’s love lost
Just as it seems that Labour has reached the bottom of the abyss, Jeremy Corbyn and his party somehow manage…
High life
Gstaad One’s unpopularity on account of calling it a night diminishes in direct proportion to the severity of the next…
Low life
A deep frost in the winter of 1821–22 killed the orange trees in Nice. The Anglican minister to the English…
Low life
A deep frost in the winter of 1821–22 killed the orange trees in Nice. The Anglican minister to the English…
Rocket
‘It is rocket science,’ said my husband waving a pinnately lobed leaf snatched from his restaurant salad. He doesn’t much…
Breathtaking and brilliant
Perfection in sport: unattainable, but sometimes you can come close. Moments, people, actions you never tire of watching: Roger Federer’s…
Can I bear to sack the digital babysitter?
I was astonished to discover in conversation with another dad last week that he and his wife intended to introduce…
Can I bear to sack the digital babysitter?
I was astonished to discover in conversation with another dad last week that he and his wife intended to introduce…
The turf
The drumbeats are quickening ahead of the Cheltenham Festival and at this stage there really is no substitute for going…
