THE FIRST SIN

 aving more than once pointed out the irony – or, to be kind, paradox – of owning watches that will never be used for their primary purposes, our UK editor, [Richard] Holt reminded me that the joke is growing stale. Even self-deprecation about the dilemma is old. Maybe, in this era of hate-filled reactions to the merest slight, when any unfashionable opinion is greeted by the cyber equivalent of a baying horde of villagers with scythes and axes, loosening up a bit