Culture Buff
Asked recently whether I thought Opera on the Harbour was really opera, I replied emphatically that it is. No one…
Time to stop this politicians’ rort
The Senate voting reforms are essential to restoring democracy to our flawed system
Behaviour unbecoming
Those bigmouths who have spilled the beans on office gossip and scuttlebutt do themselves no favours
New Zealand
On my first night in Christchurch, I woke at 3.32 a.m. to what felt like an explosion. My bed was…
Bunratty
The tournament at Bunratty is Ireland’s premier chess competition and has been for several years. This year’s event, to which…
No. 399
Black to play. This position is from Skulte-Pein, Bunratty 2016. Black’s queen is attacked. His next move didn’t force immediate…
Gray matter
In Competition No. 2938, to mark the tercentenary of Thomas Gray’s birth, you were invited to submit an ‘Elegy on…
Your problems solved
Q. My niece, who came to stay with me in the country for the weekend, arrived without cash and asked…
A thirst for Justice
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a great common lawyer, was an adornment to the American Supreme Court. His wisdom is still…
Turkey’s blackmail
Looked at from the narrow perspective of how to deal with the lethal business of human trafficking across the Aegean,…
High life
Athens I am walking around downtown Athens watching as thousands of migrants field pitches from smugglers offering alternative routes…
Long life
I used to enjoy the ghost stories of M.R. James, but I’ve never actually seen a ghost or even believed…
Long life
I used to enjoy the ghost stories of M.R. James, but I’ve never actually seen a ghost or even believed…
Low life
Nice airport was more or less deserted. Two-and-a-half hours early for the easyJet flight to Gatwick, I had a leisurely…
Low life
Nice airport was more or less deserted. Two-and-a-half hours early for the easyJet flight to Gatwick, I had a leisurely…
Swastika
There is a nice row of swastikas at head height in Burlington Gardens, behind the Royal Academy. They are carved…
Real life
‘Racing is 99.9 per cent disappointment,’ said the trainer philosophically, as I sat in the yard sipping coffee, waiting for…
A new taste of Twitter nastiness
Whenever I hear a leftie complain about being abused on Twitter, I think: ‘You should try being me.’ A case…
A new taste of Twitter nastiness
Whenever I hear a leftie complain about being abused on Twitter, I think: ‘You should try being me.’ A case…
What’s the point of the driverless car?
A first last week: a Google driverless car in autonomous mode was partly at fault in a collision, interestingly one…
Governor Cameron and the Brussels empire
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, made a typically brilliant intervention in the EU referendum debate by arguing that…
Barometer
Lonely fortress Weoley Castle in Birmingham was revealed to be the least-visited tourist attraction in England, with 5,205 visitors last year. What…
Diary
Have you ever set your face against a book? This year sees Charlotte Brontë’s bicentenary and the novelist Tracy Chevalier…
Against Churchill
From ‘Colonel Churchill’, The Spectator, 11 March 1916: Colonel Churchill is being found out. The charm, once universal, no longer…
