4 d. ago Tim Dowling: my wife’s decided we need a muzzle – no, not for me

The dogs are barking, the woman’s screaming and the man’s swearing it’s the kind of scene you see in a park and think: I’m glad that has nothing to do with meWhen I walk into the house with the dog ahead of me, I already know what I’m going to say when my wife asks, “How was that?”I’m going to say: “It was just awful.” Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Tim Dowling: here’s a rare thing – a repair job even I can’t put off

Jammed light switch? We’ll fix it when we’re back from holiday. Leaky garden hose? Doesn’t matter, it’s raining. Big hole in the roof? Ah!Summer seems to end earlier every year – the weather turns, the football starts, and you realise you’re going to spend the remainder of August trying to reconnect with your lost luggage. This year the traditional demarcation between the seasons – when we arrive home from holiday to find everything in our house in dire need of immediate repair – has come so early that we haven’t even been away yet. The light switch in the downstairs loo is stuck in the on position. The back door will not shut. The garden hose has exploded.“Nothing in this house works,” my wife says, trying to flick the jammed light switch. Continue reading...

Society

2 w. ago Tim Dowling: it’s time to name our band’s new album, and there are no bad ideas (in theory at least)

For the final flourish on our latest record, we’ve wheeled in a harmonium. If only I knew how to play it I’m in a recording studio with two other members of the band I’m in, listening to stuff we’ve recorded, with an eye toward finishing touches. But really it’s a last chance to fix mistakes: ropey backing vocals; mistimed bass notes; a banjo part played with an out‑of-tune B string.“I can easily redo it,” I say, thinking: I don’t even remember playing it in the first place. Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago The egg flight trend: Tim Dowling ranks 10 boiled egg appetisers

Want to offer friends and family a creative sampling of eggs at your next get-together? Our intrepid tester tries unexpected options, from pickled onion to tzatzikiGenerally speaking, the more TikTok trends you allow to pass you by in a year, the better. But some trends refuse to cease, and the egg flight is turning out to be one of them. The egg flight, in all its many forms, persists.Simply put, an egg flight is to hard-boiled eggs what a wine flight is to wine – a varietal sampling, presented in one sitting. Unlike devilled eggs, where the yolk is scooped out, mashed with mayonnaise and spices and piped back into its former cavity, the egg flight is just some eggs – most commonly three, in six upturned halves – with different stuff piled on top. The result is meant to be a quick but still fancy appetiser range, destined to impress your guests, your family, or at least the rest of TikTok. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Ugly, mortifying – and addictive? Tim Dowling’s week in the world’s most divisive shoes

Twenty years after they first hit the shelves, five-fingered shoes are apparently having a big fashion moment. But what is it like to wear them in public?Back in January, Vogue made a bold headline prediction: “This Freaky-Chic Shoe Will Be Everywhere in 2025”. It had already been spotted on models and rap artists, and all over TikTok and Instagram. By summer, Grazia declared that “The split-toe trend that’s been quietly bubbling for years just hit the mainstream”, citing shopping app Lyst, which named the shoe as one of its top five most-searched items.The freaky-chic shoe in question is the toe shoe – a lightweight, thin-soled trainer with separate, articulated toes. They come in a number of brands and styles, and while they may be popular, I can safely say they are not “everywhere”. Walking in them in public every day for a week, I never ran across another person wearing them. Anywhere. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Tim Dowling: my wife takes the dog to be spayed. It’s best I don’t go with her

On her return, the dog staggers in dressed in a snug onesie, like pyjamas for a very long toddler, or a canine prison uniform, too groggy to climb on the bedThe new dog – now just “the dog”, I guess – has an appointment to be spayed. Thanks to a number of unforeseen events the procedure has already been cancelled once, and my wife is keen not to miss our Friday morning slot. When it’s time to leave she comes out to my office shed with the dog following.“We’re off,” she says. Continue reading...

Politics