High and mighty
Oscars do not beckon for this crudely characterised, Gravity wannabe. On the plus side, Keira Knightley is at her least annoying
Fighting talk
The start of the year is all good if sombre stuff, and includes a revival of English National Ballet's Lest We Forget, a version of 1984 from Northern Ballet and a new work from Amici Dance Theatre
Socialist Cluedo
Yet despite the oppressively didactic set-up, the BBC's new TV adaptation of J.B. Priestley's weird melodrama grips and compels
High life
I was so traumatised, aged 16, by unrequited love that I stopped playing tennis and going to brothels
Long life
Attempts to reflect equality and diversity in our messages to extraterrestrials is a waste of time
Bridge
The cheating scandal rages on. The latest to be accused is the world’s number one-ranked pair, Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio…
Grand Tour
This week I conclude my coverage of the St Louis leg of the million dollar Grand Tour. Carlsen-So: Sinquefield…
Puzzle no. 379
Black to play. This position is a variation from So-Nakamura, St Louis 2015. How can Black conclude the attack with…
Arty limericks
In Competition No. 2915 you were invited to submit limericks featuring a well-known artist and a destination of your choice.…
My obsession with litter is bordering on mental illness
My fury at the sight of rubbish is now so great that I’ve started picking it up wherever I happen to go
Foodies without the faff
Portland doesn’t offer its diners a ‘philosophy’, despite its spindly Swedish decor – but the food is glorious
Remembering P.J. Kavanagh
‘Elms at the end of twilight are very interesting,’ wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins in his journal: ‘Against the sky they…
Hoof-trimming
The below is an unpublished poem, written for Moortown, the verse-diary of Ted Hughes’s experiences of farming in Devon in…
On the way to Plumpton
We pull up at Wivelsfield, under a blue sky, and glance out at the one figure on the platform: a…
Review
(reading Daphne Rooke) Thank you for the book. It reminded me in the way she writes, dry as the Karoo,…
La Baule
The reaction of the chap on the door at Le Bidule told me that they weren’t used to seeing English…
Grand Tour
This week I conclude my coverage of the St Louis leg of the million dollar Grand Tour. Carlsen-So: Sinquefield Cup,…
