Life
2527: The main dilemma
Three unclued lights together form an eight-word question from a well-known song. The song’s protagonist suggests the other five unclued…
2524: Spelean II - solution
The quotation is ‘I DO WISH THOU WERT A [dog] THAT I MIGHT LOVE THEE SOMETHING’. The honest servant is…
Clerihews on scientists
In Competition No. 3219, you were invited to supply clerihews on well-known scientists, past and present. The subject of the…
Chess sets
Since tennis matches are decided in sets, they are sometimes won by the player who has won fewer games. For…
Dear Mary: Should I pay to charge my electric car at a friend’s house?
Q. An acquaintance suggested organising a celebratory dinner in honour of some mutual friends. He asked my husband and me,…
In defence of panic buying
The filling station on the road out of the village was like a scene from Mad Max. People were all…
Is this Greece’s finest wine since Homer strummed his lyre?
We were in deepest Dorset, l’Angleterre profonde. The weather was also typically English: inundations followed by counter-attacks from the Indian…
Kiwi Life
A crisis by design It is increasingly sad, so many New Zealanders saying they would leave – if they could…
Kiwi Language
A tech company claims that anti-vax and anti-lockdown rallies have been ‘astroturfed’. Which means? Well, ‘AstroTurf’ was the world’s first…
In praise of bots
British Gas finally agreed to service my boiler, for no reason I could make out other than the boiler wasn’t…
I miss life before Big Tech
Do any of you remember the time when everything took place on the terraces and in outdoor cafés? Before everyone…
Bridge | 02 October 2021
Online bridge has been a lifeline for many players these past 18 months. But not everyone wanted to try it.…
The making of a racehorse trainer
My best fun, through ten years reporting European politics for CNN, was bumping around the Continent with sparky young producers…
The Manx Liberty Masters
I sat on the plane to the Isle of Man, leafing through a copy of Nigel Short’s new book, Winning.…
Spectator competitions winners: W.S. Gilbert makes a ham sandwich
In Competition No. 3218, you were invited to supply a recipe as it might have been written by the author…
2526: Everybody out!
The unclued lights (individually or as two pairs), one of three words and three of two words, can be preceded…
No. 673
White to play. This was a variation which could arise in the game R. Pert–M. Parligras, Manx Liberty Masters 2021.…
Sally Rooney on steroids
To lessen the side effects of chemotherapy I am prescribed a corticosteroid. I take a whopping dose around the treatment…
2523: Monstrous regiment - solution
The unclued Across lights can be preceded by MISS and the unclued Down lights. MRS 2/15D is the pair. First…
England’s shameful betrayal of Pakistan
Any English person with a love of cricket knows life has its ups and downs. But until now we have…
The thrill of running late
‘Dad, why is it that whenever we go anywhere, we’re always running to catch a train?’ asked Charlie, my 13-year-old.…
Dear Mary: How do I get rid of my terrible cleaner?
Q. I have recently become a widow. Since my son is away at university, I had the idea of charging…
The real Greek: Lemonia reviewed
Lemonia lives in the old Chalk Farm Tavern in Primrose Hill, which is better known as the set of Paddington.…
We are in a perfect storm of perfect storms
When my husband’s whisky glass fell off the little table next to his chair on to next door’s cat, which…
The Battle for Britain | 2 October 2021
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