“Between you and me …”

ONE OF THE MOST GRIMLY FUNNY POEMS OF the past century is Philip Larkin’s “This Be the Verse,” with its opening salvo about how our parents invariably mess us up. Larkin used a saltier word for “mess,

Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders Rory Stewart (Jonathan ...

Pulse Cynan Jones (Granta, £14.99) Saints Tim MacGabhann ...

CHEAP JOKE You know a series has run ...

DAD’S THE WORD Joe Swash (left) spoke to ...