Miles Kington
Miles Kington: Of pharaohs, pyramids and English phone boxes...
Published: 04 January 2008
"How can you copyright Stonehenge?" said our resident Welshman. "It doesn't make sense."
Miles Kington: A Welsh wizard takes on the riddle of the Sphinx
Published: 03 January 2008
"I read a story in the paper the other day that I could hardly believe," said the man with the dog, as he prepared to drink his first pint of the evening, while his poor dog prepared to slide under the table for a long period of tedium.
Miles Kington: Strange new alliances ... and the mystery of China solved
Published: 02 January 2008
Miles Kington: Badgers and great sand urchins home in on Liverpool
Published: 01 January 2008
Miles Kington: A peek ahead at the main news events for 2008
Published: 31 December 2007
Miles Kington: Never trust a journalist's advice on Brussels sprouts
Published: 28 December 2007
Today I bring you the first post-Christmas advice column, so let's go with the first problem ...
Miles Kington: Humour me for a while, even if you don't think it's funny
Published: 27 December 2007
We are now coming to that time of the year when almost the entire population of Germany and Scandinavia and even South Africa and Austria sits down to watch an English television programme that hardly anyone in Britain has ever heard of, let alone seen.
Miles Kington: Steamed for Mrs Cratchit - with a washing-day smell
Published: 26 December 2007
For a change this year, at Christmas breakfast, my wife decided to dish up a huge and wonderful bowl of kedgeree, and as the 12 of us dug in to the delicate dish (Did I say 12? Where did we all come from?) and the fragrant festive spirit of haddock, eggs, fresh chopped parsley and rice spread abroad, I thought just for a moment that we were all in danger of getting too happy, too soon, on Christmas Day.
Miles Kington: Why not combine two great Christmas institutions into one?
Published: 24 December 2007
Miles Kington: Survey gives clues to 50 worst headlines of the year
Published: 21 December 2007
Getting through newspapers as quickly as possible is made much easier if you simply follow the Miles Kington method and avoid all articles which feature a certain word in its heading.
Miles Kington: On the 12th day of Yule, my true love went binge-drinking
Published: 20 December 2007
Miles Kington: Why the midwinter solstice is a time to be saturnine
Published: 19 December 2007
Miles Kington: Why not go Christmas shopping for some handy foreign words?
Published: 18 December 2007
Miles Kington: Maybe a couple of straight guys can do justice to Wilde
Published: 17 December 2007
Miles Kington: What do you get for the man who has everything?
Published: 14 December 2007
Someone once wrote a piece which started: "A Perfect Gift For the Man Who Has Everything. Penicillin!" That may be very funny for most of us, but is rather offensive to those who really have got everything. How these unlucky millionaires must dread Christmas, when their nearest and dearest ring them up and say, "Any good ideas on your want list this year?" and they have to say drearily, "Well, I really do think I've got everything I need..." or even worse, lie and say, "You're not going to believe this, but I'm very low on socks..."
Miles Kington: Could Brussels sprouts save the British food industry?
Published: 13 December 2007
It was the annual 2007 meeting of the British Food Item of the Year Campaign, and time for the keynote speech. So all eyes were on Sir Hector Pascal as he made his way up to the podium in Sandwichmakers Hall, the great livery company HQ in which they were privileged to be gathered this evening.
Miles Kington: Season's bleatings from Ace Heating Engineers and friends
Published: 12 December 2007
Miles Kington: Lost in an enchanting world of forgotten classics
Published: 11 December 2007
I come to you today to sing the praises of something which restores the colour to the cheeks of the word "bookish", namely the magazine called Slightly Foxed. Have you come across this? You have to keep your eyes open as it is a quarterly – the issue are spring, summer, etc – and is entirely dedicated to pieces by writers about other writers they have loved, or feel are neglected, or whom we may take for granted.
Miles Kington: No abbey, no fireworks. Just a small, unrepeatable moment
Published: 10 December 2007
Miles Kington: A family Christmas with Bronhilde, Elflein and Wolf
Published: 07 December 2007
Miles Kington: If you go down to the woods today, you'll find it a bit dull
Published: 06 December 2007
There was an elderly man sitting opposite me in the train yesterday who looked so respectable that I got quite a shock when, halfway through a newspaper article, he said something rude under his breath. He looked up, caught my eye and apologised.
Miles Kington: We all know what makes a city a city... or do we?
Published: 05 December 2007
I have had a letter from a reader who has asked me to settle for once and for all the answer to the question "What is a City?"
Miles Kington: Why Pullman and Dawkins are no match for the Deities
Published: 04 December 2007
Miles Kington: No picnic for gods debating teddy bear débâcle
Published: 03 December 2007
It's been far too long since we last consulted the top gods. By which I mean since we paid a visit to the United Deities, that non-stop divine talk shop which all gods are entitled to attend, so they can discuss how we humans are managing the planet. Here are some of the minutes from last week's session ...
Miles Kington: When did music and comedy go their separate ways?
Published: 30 November 2007
I watched a programme on BBC4 the other day. No, honest. It was just a half-hour programme. Dawn French was interviewing Rob Brydon about the art of comedy. Not badly, except for the simpering. (Don't simper, Dawn.) But she never asked him the one question I wanted asked.
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