Tim Dowling

Tim Dowling: how did I end up on a helpline for the old and befuddled? The online banker sounds concerned, as if he’s trying to keep me on the line until the ambulance arrives

I've advanced to a new circle of customer service purgatory

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Remembering Rachel Cooke | The Observer

Beautiful piece by @TimAdamsWrites on the brilliant Observer journalist Rachel Cooke who could write wonderfully about anything, has died tragically young and will be hugely, hugely missed by so many people.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Jelly’s back! Here are three worth making – and three that should wobble off to the bin The traditional treat is all over Instagram and TikTok. But does it always taste as impressive as it looks? And why is it so hard to get it to set rather than slump? Time for a deep dive …

I went all in on jelly. As ever, gastronomy was the loser.

www.theguardian.com/food/2025/no...

similar effects budget.

Tim Dowling: life on the road was so much simpler than being at home On tour with the band there were no snapping tortoises, no dog kerfuffles and certainly no peeping scaffolders

One for the Tims

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Yeah mine is still rampaging

Good guess (I have read that one) but no

Tim Dowling: I love books – but can’t remember anything about the ones I’ve just read In bed I lie awake, staring at the books on my nightstand, trying to remember a single salient fact about any of them

I enjoyed the blue one, for what it’s worth.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

You wouldn't have like my jam roly poly, but it confirmed my long-held mistrust of so-called self-raising flour.

Steam, stodge – and so much suet: I made 10 endangered British puddings. Are any actually worth saving? With many classic puddings on the verge of dying out, I set out to discover which should be back on the menu. It was a journey through some of the heaviest desserts in history

So, I made a lot of puddings.

www.theguardian.com/food/2025/se...

Still up, still eating

you can forget again.

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?

I wore toe shoes

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025...

Tim Dowling: the old dog snorted with delight – and then she was gone | Tim Dowling Our short stay in the country ended in heartbreak. If there’s a best way for an animal to die, I can’t say I’ve found it

RIP, the old dog.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Tim Dowling: the dog is destroying the lawn, but I need to catch her red-pawed I spend all afternoon watching the dog. Then an email pings and I turn to read it. When I turn back, the dog is gone and there’s a new hole in the lawn

Tim Dowling: the dog is destroying the lawn, but I need to catch her red-pawed

Let me add my outrage.

fine but how far do I have to walk

Any incentive to keep the industry viable is worth considering

The fisherman aesthetic: anglercore is everywhere – but does it suit me? Waders you could wear to a gallery opening, vests cropped weirdly short and laden with pockets. I tried the biggest trend in fashion to find out why so many non-fishers are wearing it

The short answer to the question is: yes, I'm afraid it does suit me.
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025...

never. A monstrous oversight

Is it one of those words that has to be plural?

Tim Dowling: let my tortoise’s humiliating mishap be a lesson to him A freak thunderstorm soaks the middle one on his way to our house (he’s come to raid the fridge), but the real drama is the toppled tortoise

As a custodian of an ancient tortoise adept at concealing himself with the least available ground cover, that elusive Pimpershell, I always identify with @timdowling.bsky.social’s columns about his.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Tim Dowling: Help! We have no internet and I really do have work to do I’ve got a date with one of the country’s worst-rated customer service departments. What could possibly go right?

Here's this week's column, posted a bit later than usual (no idea why).

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

it's up now, anyway!

Dunno what’s happened there. I mean, I did write one.

If nothing else, it may survive as a handy guide

god bless you

Tim Dowling: it’s the last date of my band’s tour – do I risk telling my Italian sausage joke? There is one story I’ve prepared but never used. Is the world ready for it?

The world is still not ready for my joke.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

I'd forgotten that when I went to interview Onion staff 23 years ago, their photographer asked to borrow my gormless, self-satisfied mug.

actually it is me, 23 years ago.