Other Men's Flowers

Earlier this month the New York Sunday Times Magazine had a cool and cogent article by Steven Pinker called The Moral Instinct which attem...

With bitterness I noted a year ago that some vicious and small-minded creep, may his toes turn green and drop off, had cited "terms of ...

In a more gracious age, for which I was sadly born too late, persons of distinction visiting a restaurant, hotel or place of entertainment w...

Bet you didn't know that of all the peoples of mainland Europe the Belgians are the bravest because they can't import feminine fripp...

I never expect anything in the way of thrills or titillation when I scan through my local newspaper, but this week there wasn't even muc...

Apparently Ella Fitzgerald didn't like him, because he would fool about behind her when they appeared together on stage, and although h...

Before Michael Frayn became a novelist and playwright he had regular columns in the Guardian and the Observer. Many of these pieces were lat...

...or, if you are French, ta gueule ! Urban Dictionary says this is: a French slang/argot expression: to demand silence in a violent or im...

...or The Lady, or The Thing. I always thought that praising a Supreme Omnipotent Omniscient Creator would be pointless; I mean, such a per...

...continued from here After the sixteen-course lunch our intrepid gormandiser takes a few hours rest then sets off in search of fresh fumet...

Usually, I resist the easy option of creating a post by simply quoting or linking to a news item. Since the beginning of 2008, however, the ...

If you thought that you had committed the sin of Gluttony over Christmas, you will realise that you were actually being quite frugal if you ...

I did not expect that many of the bare-knuckle fighters, street traders and used car dealers among my readers would accept my sonnet-writing...

[This correspondence began on 25th December …] 5th January Sir, Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs us to inform you that with th...

[This correspondence began on 25th December …] 4th January This is the last straw. You know I detest bagpipes. The place has now become some...

[This correspondence began on 25th December …] 3rd January As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing about all over what u...

[This correspondence began on 25th December …] 2nd January Look here Edward, this has gone far enough. You say you’re sending me nine ladies...

[This correspondence began on 25th December …] 1st January Frankly I think I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids—and thei...

[This correspondence began on 25th December …] 31st December Edward, I thought I said no more birds, but this morning I woke up to find no l...

[This correspondence began on 25th December …] 30th December Dear Edward, Whatever I expected to find when I opening the front door this mor...