Sport
The hazards of being a good sport
Not a day passes when I don’t look on my father’s record with shock and awe. I’m not talking about…
Grand National Notebook
‘How’s your shoulder?’ someone asked recently, and it was only then I realised, for the first time in a while,…
New heights
For anyone who knows or cares about rock climbing — a minority sport if ever there was one, albeit pretty…
Worshipping the body beautiful
My favourite fact about gyms before reading this book was that the average British gym member covers 468 miles per…
Sacré Bleus! At least the food is good
It used to be such a treat of a winter weekend, sitting down to watch France against Wales in Paris…
Why I won’t cry for Harry
I can’t say I’m surprised by the departure of Harry Redknapp. Since I started supporting Queens Park Rangers in 2008…
A cheerleader to swear by
It wasn’t that long ago when the most exciting event in any British tennis fan’s life was whether Jeremy Bates…
Myths and legends
‘As a leader and a man, he is incomparable to anyone I have ever worked with.’ Obviously quite some guy,…
The bill that keeps on building
Giving London’s Olympic stadium a ‘legacy’ is proving to be a very costly business
Putting Fletcher in the shades
Some years ago, when the last Conservative government was limping towards defeat, someone published a book called 101 Uses for…
Letters
Poor treatment Sir: Jane Kelly’s article (‘No tea or sympathy’, 2 August) on the lack of empathy and emotional support…
Squash hits
Thank god for the Commonwealth Games: at least they gave us a brief respite from football transfer stories. Instead of…
Diary
Sport is like love: it can only really hurt you if you care. Or for that matter, bring joy. You…
Being the best
This time last year, England’s cricketers were 2-0 up against Australia, two thirds of the way towards their third consecutive…
Barometer
Public benefit Public sector unions held a strike over pay. How well are public-sector workers paid compared with their counterparts…
What’s right with Saracens– and José’s Chelsea
It’s hard to love Saracens rugby club — their centre is called Bosch, a word that also describes their bulldozing…
In defence of the Boat Race
It’s Boat Race time again and as soon as the BBC starts its broadcast on Sunday there will be those…
Flying boards and killer moustaches
You can trust the BBC to behave like a leaf blown by any breeze, but even that spineless leviathan (if…
Death of a team
Englishmen used to be deported to Australia as a punishment. Now they get sent back to England as an act…
Winter warmers
James Cook’s third voyage as an English captain ended in disaster, stabbed to death and disembowelled by a pack of…
$10 million nobodies
Golf has reached the eye-watering end of the season in the United States. By Sunday night, one man in a…
Teenage dreams
Were you still up, as they used to say about Portillo in the 1997 election, for Hedwall? It was well…
Speculation season
It’s been a long, hot, soccerless holiday. There has been football about — the women’s European Championship, for example, and…
Must I sponsor your misery?
Every charitable donation now seems to come with a promise to suffer
Can anyone save Aussie cricket?
Insomniacs, invalids and cricket obsessives (step forward yours truly) were probably the only people who stumbled on it, but BBC4…
