Verse Letter
In reply to Ann Baer, aged 101, of Richmond-on-Thames. Your handwriting, so perfect for its style And firmness, made…
Tempus fugit
In serious competitive chess the play is regulated by time limits for completion of the moves. In the mid-19th century,…
No. 368
White to play. This position is from Vachier-Lagrave-Caruana, Norway Blitz 2015. How did White finish off at once? Answers to…
Off colour
In Competition No. 2903 you were invited to provide an extract from an article in an interiors magazine featuring some…
Your problems solved
Q. My partner, a leading political commentator on a national newspaper, recently agreed to shave off his hair at the…
Myths and legends
The Ivy is a Playmobil-style faux-medieval restaurant in a triangular building opposite The Mousetrap; of the two, The Ivy is…
Laying down the law
A great test of political leadership is how well you deal with vested interests on your own side. In his…
High life
Last Wednesday, 24 June, Pugs held a luncheon in honour of our first member to depart for the Elysian Fields,…
Long life
It is nearly two years since the police were granted new powers to fine motorists for ‘hogging’ the middle lane…
Long life
It is nearly two years since the police were granted new powers to fine motorists for ‘hogging’ the middle lane…
Low life
Ninety-two readers (thank you!) sent accounts of their worst debacles on drink or drugs. I printed out each one and…
Low life
Ninety-two readers (thank you!) sent accounts of their worst debacles on drink or drugs. I printed out each one and…
On the cusp
‘A stalker who dressed a pillow “mannequin” in his ex’s nurse’s uniform, then sent her a picture, has been told…
Real life
Why won’t the middle classes shout at their dogs any more? My suspicion is that the bleeding heart liberals, having…
Tiger, Tiger, burning out
A car crash is a terrible thing, but hordes of people still slow down to cop an eyeful on the…
In defence of Gove’s grammar
Listen http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/angelamerkel-sburden/media.mp3 Few things are more likely to provoke the disapproval of the bien-pensant left than criticising someone’s grammar. The…
In defence of Gove’s grammar
Listen http://rss.acast.com/viewfrom22/angelamerkel-sburden/media.mp3 Few things are more likely to provoke the disapproval of the bien-pensant left than criticising someone’s grammar. The…
Simply the best
Nothing pleases the Royal Ascot crowd more than a winner for the meeting’s crucial supporter, the Queen. Imagine, then, the…
Hesiod on Grexit anxiety
Why do Greeks want to keep the euro, or remain in the European Union? The combative, creative, competitive, mercantile classical…
Barometer
The spirit of 1945 No one would have been more surprised at the sight of 100,000 people marching in London…
Diary
My husband says I only write books in order to have a launch party. Not so. I also write books…
The Russians are coming
From ‘The Inexpugnability of Russia’, The Spectator, 26 June 1915: At this moment, after nearly a year’s fighting, Russia is only…
Portrait of the week
Home Tens of thousands took part in a demonstration in London against austerity, and thousands more in other cities. Russell…
Maestro maker
The writer and director Peter Bogdanovich has made three of my favourite films of all time (The Last Picture Show,…
