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Julia Child was an American gourmand who introduced Americans, via a public broadcasting network, to the delights of French cooking in the 1950s and 1950s. In a television series about her life, there is a scene where she travels to New York from Boston to receive an accolade. At a gala dinner she meets Betty Friedan, one of the pioneer feminists of post-war America. On that point, RIP Gloria Steinem. Friedan chastises Child for having made thousands of American housewives bo

If a week is a long time in politics, then the same can probably be said of a Grand Slam tournament. It seems an eternity ago that Novak Djokovic lost his first round match. It was his first defeat in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament since the Australian Open in 2006. Enfeebled and vomiting at the baselines, his distressed state suggested that it may not be long before Novak announces his retirement. Notwithstanding his oft stated wish to continue playing until the

With remarkable speed, the US Open is upon us; the main draw commences on 30th August. The day after its opening is the 29th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana in a car crash in a Parisian tunnel on the last day of the calendar northern summer on 31st August, 1997. Her death was certainly one of those “where were you when it happened?” moments: Older generations remember where they were when JFK was assassinated; younger ones remember the 9/11 attacks. Each event star

If you blinked too much over the last three weeks, you might be forgiven for not comprehending all that happened. Let’s recap. The war between the United States and Iran revived itself with no feasible end in sight. England divorced another Prime Minister and welcomed its seventh in ten years. Andy Burnham assumes the office today, with his only advantage being that never have expectations been lower about what he might achieve. Europe has just emerged from the worst of a bli

President Trump recently turned 80. He believed his present to the world was peace in the Gulf. Yet, as I type the Strait of Hormuz has been closed again as fighting resumes in Lebanon. The concept of a permanent peace in the Middle-East risks becoming an oxymoron. Trump’s hometown basketball team, the New York Knicks, delivered him another present by winning the NBA title for the first time since 1973, ironically also a year when the politics of oil dominated the world- the

“Some people go to Paris to study history; some go to Paris to make it.” No, this observation is not from Napoleon’s press office. It was the slogan Nike used following Michael Chang’s unexpected victory at the French Open in 1989. This year, more tennis history was made in the purlieus of Paris. For the first time in a Grand Slam event since the French Open of 2004, two first time Grand Slam champions were crowned at the same event. The breakthrough victories of Mirra Andree

It’s not every day that the No.1 seed in a Grand Slam tournament leads two sets to love, serves for the match at 5-1 in the third against an unseeded opponent and loses. Yet, it has happened today at the French Open. Jannik Sinner, who has swept all before him this year cramped at 5-1 and lost the last three sets 5-7 1-6 1-6, to Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo, a player whose highest ranking is No.54. How history repeats! Well, partially. At this year’s Australian Open Sinn

The qualifying is over and the first round of the French Open begins today! How the French Open has crept up on us! Politics is very much the main game presently. Before the Netflix series The Crown, there was the movie, The Queen, featuring an Oscar winning performance by Helen Mirren, which focussed on the Royal Family’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana. Tony Blair became Prime Minister of England in May 1997. Less than four months later he was caught up in the seism

With the withdrawal of defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, from the Men’s Draw of the forthcoming French Open, everyone must be expecting to honour Jannik Sinner to be this year’s champion. His victory in the recent Madrid tournament makes him the first player to win five consecutive Masters 1000 titles- Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and now Madrid. Alex Zverev could offer little resistance in the Madrid final. Sinner’s golden run of prowess and assuredness stands i

“When I was young all the world seemed that life was so wonderful, A miracle, oh, it was beautiful, magical…”The Logical Song Supertramp Perplexingly, paradoxically that is how the world must have seemed to most when Artemis II recently sent images of our planet taken on its manned mission to the moon. Having gone further than any previous missions, the crew ‘s enlightening images taken from the dark side of the moon transfixed their earthbound audience. The unique and frag

Fads : a practice or interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal. I’ve known a few fads, but then again too few to mention. Well, maybe not! Hula hoops, Yo-yos, Drive ins, Polka dot bikinis ,3D glasses, Fidget spinners, Diets- grapefruit, egg free, keto, paleo, Atkins, vegan, blood type, intermittent fasting, 5:2, carnivore, low sugar, low salt, cabbage soup, Israeli desert soldier, CSIRO, low-carb, hip and thigh- RSI, Y2 Bug, Shoulder pads, Mini skirts, Fusion cookin

One must acknowledge the passing of the years when you have lived through a revolution and its counter-revolution. This has been my experience with Iran. 1979 was America’s post-war nadir. It was reeling from a myriad of malaises: post-Watergate shock, post-Vietnam war withdrawal, the new economic phenomenon of stagflation, reacting to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of Iran’s Shah in an Islamic revolution. America’s then emasculated status was writ large

The art of playing politics and tennis is intrinsically linked to handling pressure. Yet, there is something especially public about the pressure that politicians and tennis players face. On this day of Chinese New Year, we are reminded of the Oriental adage, “the higher the monkey climbs the tree, the more visible its behind.” Be it in a House of Parliament or one of the world’s grand tennis stages, there is no place to hide for the elected representative or the sponsored pl

In all the controversy about the appropriateness and meaning of Australia Day, not to mention being caught up in events at the Australian Open, an important political anniversary probably passed by most of us. Australia Day 2026 was the sixtieth anniversary of the resignation of Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister, Robert Gordon Menzies. He was Prime Minister first from 26 th April 1939 until 29 th August, 1941. Menzies used the relatively new medium of the wireles

“In the Women’s Draw, look out for a resurgent Elena Rybakina to add the Australian Open to her Wimbledon title of 2022. Guileful and graceful, Rybakina has the temperament and game to master Melbourne.” 10 th December 2025 ************************ Spoiler alert- this post will be more tennis than politics; however, given the near four month hiatus until the start of the French Open, there will be plenty of time to specu

As much as we live in a globalised world in terms of trade, economics and, increasingly culture- look at the polyglot collection of films nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars-, we still are a hemispheric world dramatically divided by nature. In Australia, the Australian Open is being played on days of unbearable heat . Last Saturday, the tournament’s heat policy was implemented as the surface temperature on centre court reached 65 degrees Celsius. The ballboys and

Damn it all! Why is Newton’s third law always right? Barely a month after the Bondi massacre, Australia is witnessing a dispiriting inability to either politically or socially achieve an effective response to our worst ever terrorist attack. As a result of the Prime Minister’s initial anaemic reaction to the massacre, we have now had the Newtonian equal and opposite reaction , if not an overreaction. Suddenly, a Royal Commission is called, a national day of mourning is declar

In 1993, when tickets were somewhat affordable for the citizenry, I attended the Men’s Singles final at the Australian Open between Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg. Players and spectators took to Centre Court on a day when the temperature soared to 43 degrees in the shade. Today, the tournament’s heat policy would have seen the final played under a closed roof. Even before Tik Tok, American broadcasters showed images of eggs being fried on the baking court. It was no surprise

Here’s the problem. No true democrat likes to see countries ravaged by the acts of dictators. Human rights and economies are inevitably destroyed. Will Zimbabwe ever truly recover after the excesses of Mugabe? Have either Russia or Germany emerged from the legacies of Stalin and Hitler? We know all too well what has been required to remove the world’s most evil leaders from countries. In the shadows of World War 2, and even further since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the

With the flick of his wrist, John McEnroe, who it is ridiculous to think will be 67 in February, would often execute a sublime half-volley, when the ball seemed past him. Crowds would gasp in disbelief. The impossible was made easy. If only the same could be said of entering a new secular year. The closing of one calendar and the opening of another is remarkably easy. However, the intractable problems of one year inevitably follow us into the next, leaving us wondering whethe