Nadal’s body, which for so long said yes, is saying hell no. His legs, the pillars his game was built on, have betrayed him. The spirit is still willing. The flesh is weak.

It’s about a battle for immortality and as Paris draws near, pitting two all-time greats against each other. 

Emotions are running high within Fianna Fáil with most TDs disappointed at MacSharry's departure — regardless of their mixed views about the man himself

"The rule for columnists, generally, is that they should be at least two of the following: political, controversial, well informed, outrageously funny, intimately personal, taboo-breaking. I am none of these things."

"We were not in control of our lives and so we were brutal to ourselves and to each other to feel like we had a handle on things. It’s a feeling you forget, gradually, as you become an adult and start to choose your own destiny."

When I leave the passport office, there are yet more pissed-off-looking English people. I wonder how many of them will be successful. And I wonder how many of them will visit

"I find all this riveting: the fact that a skirmish in 18th century France could lead to a melding of language in Cork, and the evidence has ended up in Cheryl Cole’s mouth"

"I was, of course, terrified of horror movies and deeply worried about the idea of watching them. The worst part was, I was very interested in witchcraft. I loved the idea of magic, but I couldn’t stand the notion of being scared."

You are a terrible employee. But you’re a very, very good girl

I’ve had a person I was interviewing tell me, moments before the event began, that he had complete contempt for what we were doing, that the subject of the discussion was nonsense, and that he would rather be at home