My 12-times table is ninja fast. Not just up to 10, either – that’s kid’s stuff. I’m talking dozens of dozens, hundreds even. I’ve even got favourites: 38 times 12 is 456 – pleasingly sequential; 50 times 12 is 600 – an easy one, but with satisfying roundness. Then there’s the evergreen classic 74 times 12, giving not just two but three fat ladies,…

K Cider: that was my first booze of choice. In its limited-edition coloured bottles, it was the height of sophistication – in the public parks of Bedford. I was no snob though, oh no. I would also sometimes drink Mirage and Taboo. These days there’s a good chance I’d be drinking what are known as aromatised wine-based drinks, although I doubt the current generation of…

OLN columnist Richard Hemming has been named one of the Institute of Masters of Wine’s latest MWs. Hemming, who also writes for Jancis Robinson MW’s Purple Pages, was among 19 new masters of wine joining the institute this year – a record high for the body. He said: “Passing the MW is such huge a relief, and I’ve been overwhelmed with messages…

There’s something irresistible about stories unveiling the dirty secrets of a profession: politicians blow billions on garden gnomes; athletes busted mainlining Red Bull; hacks distort facts for salacious headlines. Even if there are two sides to the story, the slightest transgression usually looks incriminating when shared outside the cosseted confines of an industry. Banking, policing, cycling – scandals have rocked all these spheres recently,…

Picture your favourite Champagne. Perhaps you’ve got more than one. Either way, I expect it occurred to you almost instantaneously, and that you conjured up an image of the bottle in your mind. Now ask yourself: why is it your favourite? For most people, the answer to that question will not be cold and calculated. People rarely love a particular Champagne because it consistently wins the most…

On the surface, life seems generally predictable and familiar. Alarms wake us at the same time every day, insurance premiums go up every year, pubs sell Pinot Grigio by the glass. Yet surprises spring up far more frequently than we might imagine. Who could have predicted that the Conservative party would win a Commons majority? Or that loom bands would become a global craze? Or that Rowan Gormley…

I’m not sure how to listen to music any more. I don’t mean that I’m sticking earphones into the wrong holes (you don’t make that mistake twice), I’m talking about the way music is accessed. It used to be so simple. You’d buy a physical album or single and listen to it on a machine designed solely for that purpose. That was the norm fewer than 20 years…