Is it a sign that I am fully middle-aged, not to say old, that I have just nipped down the allotment? Probably - although, as we shall see, the nature of allotments and gardening has been changing in the UK. But…
Word of the day: palaver
During my trip to Norilsk last week, I managed to squeeze in a day trip to Dudinka, a small port town situated on the mighty Yenesei River that's mainly used to ship out the nickel which is found in such…
Word of the day: vanilla
These days, there's no shame in looking online for a partner. Indeed, it's all the rage in certain circles. The online dating scene has come a long way in a short period of time and there's been an incredible diversification…
Word of the day: baby boomers
Over 400,000 British people people died during the Second World War, the vast majority of them men. Now, while this pales into insignificance when compared to the tens of millions who died in the Soviet Union, it still led to…
Word of the day: endorse
Like many of you out there, I suspect, I'm a rather reluctant user of LinkedIn. The site bills itself as "the world's largest professional network, with hundreds of millions of members" and promises to "connect the world's professionals ... and…
Word of the day: mecca
As you probably know, the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is of vital importance in Islam. It was the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the site of his first revelations of the Holy Quran. Making a pilgrimage…
Word of the day: bugbear
A bugbear is a pet hate – a small thing that annoys you and that you probably moan about to other people. In less polite terms, we might say that a bugbear is something that gets on your tits (strangely,…
Word of the day: snowflake
London had its first real sprinkling of snow last weekend. It wasn't that exciting, to be honest: a couple of inches fell on Friday night, which is nothing compared to the kind of snow I'm sure many of you get…
Word of the day: crush
It's Valentine's Day today, the one day of the year when married men panic buy the last sad bunches of flowers from garages on their drives home, restaurants double their prices and still end up fully booked weeks in advance,…
Word of the day: zero hours
It's the question every father dreads being asked by their children. "Daddy?" a little voice will ask one day, "what's a zero-hours contract?" You dread this moment for it will signal the beginning of the end: the end of childhood,…