Life
Aussie Language
I have coined a potentially useful new expression: comatose bias. We are told that one of the great problems in…
The battle of the sexes
One tradition at the annual Gibraltar Masters is a high-spirited skittles match played in the evening between teams of men…
Pass on Piggy’s, head to Hide: central London breakfasts reviewed
The centre could not hold, at least for Piggy’s. The drama of being the only greasy spoon in the West…
Mason Greenwood and football’s obsession with prodigies
Well, there’s a surprise: Nike have cancelled their sponsorship of the Manchester United and England footballer Mason Greenwood, who is…
When did ‘pikey’ become offensive?
A policeman sent a colleague who was house-sitting for him a WhatsApp message: ‘Keep the pikeys out.’ He was sacked…
2542: Wider II
Nine unclued lights (all real words) are the names of 35A with one letter misprinted. The correct letters match those…
The Battle for Britain | 12 February 2022
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
I’m stuck in Surrey, get me outta here!
After most of Islington moved to Wales, it was foolish of me to think about following. But the need to…
Bridge | 12 February 2022
You may not have heard of Sue Johnson but she could be the fairy godmother bridge needs right now. Not…
2539: Wider - solution
The six unclued lights and PLAYWRIGHTS (35/26) are FETCHER/Fletcher (13), CHILLER/Schiller (22), WESTER/Webster (34), MEANDER/Menander (38), PRIESTLY/Priestley (6) and COTEAU/Cocteau…
Spectator competition winners: Gulliver’s Day Out and other literary prequels
In Competition No. 3235, you were invited to invent a prequel to a well-known work of literature and supply an…
No. 689
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Touw Hian Bwee, Schakend Nederland 1976. The first move allows…
The day Boris tried to bribe me
It’s not every day that a future prime minister offers you a bribe, but that’s what happened to me 38…
Dear Mary: How can we avoid making friends on our cruise?
Q. My partner’s work involves him seeing and talking to people all day, every day. I booked us on to…
The crazy, corrupt world of the Beijing Olympics
Gstaad OK sport fans, have you been enjoying the concentration camp Olympics? I’m sure the Uighurs in the Chinese gulag…
The healing power of medieval austerity
Eighty yards west of the high terrace where I’ve sat for three weeks recuperating is a hospice built for Napoleon’s…
Why a church in Jerusalem is the model for all family-owned holiday homes
Malindi, the Indian Ocean When I lived in Jerusalem a long time ago, I often visited the Church of the…
Aussie Life
The elevation of Dylan Alcott to Australian of the Year is a great win for the disability sector, but threatens…
Aussie Language
As we approach a federal election, for the next few weeks I’ll look at some ‘election lingo’. ballot: Why do…
The joylessness of Joan Didion
Gstaad Joan Didion, who died last December, took herself extremely seriously. American writers tend to do that, especially those…
Spectator competition winners: Covid’s metamorphoses
In Competition No. 3234, you were invited to submit either a poem or a short story entitled ‘Covid’s metamorphoses’. Thanks…
Magnus’s tasks
World championship match play has a stony logic, where there are no prizes for glorious endeavour. It calls to mind…
2538: Green Light! Cross! - solution
The unclued lights are towns on Gozo (go + zo are defined in the puzzle’s title). Apologies that this crossword…
Clash of the two-mile titans
The engine wasn’t what it was, they said. At ten years old the spark that had once made him a…
Why Sardinian wine is one to watch
The larger islands of the Mediterranean all have their glories. Fought over for millennia, they now seem to have attained…
