Religion has been resurrected in British politics
British history is littered with elections and Elections. The first type, common or garden elections, are fought with prosaic issues…
Where’s my free BMW?
My friend Will Clouston, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, dropped round with his wife for a bite to…
Do you have the patience to own an EV?
There’s a distinctive glow of virtue that emanates from people recharging their electric cars in public places. I call it…
‘I always have a smile on my face up there’: jockey Sam Waley-Cohen on the art of winning
Last week, I had a commuter-hell day. The Great Western train to London was standing room only, horribly delayed, and the…
Has Airbnb just declared war against its hosts?
The Airbnb help centre chatbot kept telling me that she understood how frustrating it must be for me to have…
A Ukrainian win is more important than ever
On 3 April we mark 1,500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine; on 11 June, the conflict will have lasted longer…
The joy of meeting ‘randomers’
Provence Life was complicated when I fled to Provence in November 2014 with no job and very little money. At…
Portrait of the week: Oil prices surge, Scott Mills is sacked and the Houthis join the war
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: ‘We are working on a viable plan for the Strait of Hormuz.’…
The Christian grace of Jimmy Lai’s prison drawings
Sharp-eyed readers will notice that Peter Brookes’s fox, who normally tops this column, is absent. They can be reassured. He…
Gen Z are turning to the Book of Common Prayer
‘No one pretends that modern services will fill the churches. But adult converts ought to be able to step naturally…
My advice for the new Archbishop of Canterbury
To mark the celebration of the Annunciation (‘Lady Day’, 25 March), a friend sends me an image of her favourite…
2746: Chain letters
The unclued lights can be arranged to form an unbroken chain with the last three letters of one word becoming…
The highs – and low lows – of supporting QPR
At the beginning of the current football season, I thought there was a real chance that QPR would get promoted.…
Spectator Competition: Punning wild
Comp. 3443 was inspired by Brian Bilston’s ‘Remembrance of Things Pasta’ which begins: She blew her fusilli, my pretty penne,…
Dear Mary: how can I stop rich friends splitting the bill?
Q. I have the sort of job that means I am regularly recruiting new young talent. Now when I go…
Helpmates
Participants at the Winton British Solving Championship face six rounds of fiendishly difficult chess problems. The problems have an exam-style…
