Life
Aussie Language
‘LGAs’. Since when did this ugly piece of bureaucratic jargon become part of everyday English? Because the bureaucrats keep rattling…
No. 667
White to play and draw. The conclusion of an endgame study composed by J. Hašek (1951). Black is preparing a…
Containment
‘Exchange chess’ (also known as bughouse) is the chess equivalent of a three-legged race. It is played in teams of…
2520: 5 4 3 2 1
The unclued lights, two of two words and the others as four pairs, are of a kind. Across 6…
A great contest without the skulduggery of the past
Taking a day off racing to enjoy Joe Root’s regal 180 not out against India on the third day of…
Why is an Athens paper going after my old friend King Constantine?
Gstaad It seems to be open season on the royals, starting with Prince Andrew and the charges against him by…
A tale of many swimming pools
My two grandsons are staying with us here in Provence for a week. Roman soldier Catriona flew from Marseille to…
I’m not ill but I’m not as I was: how Covid takes its toll
If it’s true that the virus finds your weak spot, it has lodged itself like an evil monkey in my…
Bridge | 21 August 2021
Live bridge is back. It kicked off two weekends ago with Eastbourne’s Swiss Pairs. I went with my friend Ollie…
Spectator competition winners: Mrs Malaprop turns tour guide
In Competition No. 3212 you were invited to provide a spiel that a well-known character from the field of fact…
The Battle for Britain | 21 August 2021
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2517: Final line-up - solution
The unclued lights are the eleven England footballers who LINED UP at the kick-off of the Euro FINAL on 11…
The Orwell Foundation has let George Orwell down
George Orwell would not have been surprised by the brouhaha surrounding Kate Clanchy. Two years ago, Clanchy published Some Kids…
‘Lifeless and necrotic’: Native at Browns is an ode to joylessness
Browns is a famous fashion boutique in deepest Mayfair. It occupies a curved cream townhouse on Brook Street, which seems…
Dear Mary: how do I stop my fat friends breaking my chairs?
Q. We have two very longstanding and generous-hearted (female) friends. Both have always been overweight, but since Covid they have…
Can cricket go on like this?
‘Fifty years from now Britain will still be the country of long shadows on county grounds, warm beer, invincible green…
Aleatory, fate and a rolling of the dice
‘What do they mean, “Guess”?’ asked my husband, staring suspiciously at a page of the Daily Mail that had been…
Aussie Life
At time of writing, Australia is sixth on the Tokyo medal ladder and with only one day of competition left…
Aussie Language
In December the various dictionaries will announce their choice for the Word of the Year title. For a while I…
Dear Mary: How do I stop my husband repeating himself?
Q. A very old friend has rented a holiday house and invited my husband and me to stay. The property…
I took my wife to a Millwall match – and it didn’t go well
The fighting started just as Caroline turned right on to the Uxbridge Road after emerging from QPR’s stadium on Loftus…
The wine that made me change my mind about Valpolicella
There was a marvellous general of yesteryear called George Burns. He had a good war and a splendid peace. He…
Why cocktails are superior to wine
I often argue that, in theory at least, well-made cocktails are indisputably better than wines costing 20 times more. My…
The dramatic evolution of ‘actor’
‘That chap in Line of Duty. That’s what I’d call a bad actor,’ said my husband with vague certainty. He…
Why I’m thanking God, my immune system and garlic
‘Contact a GP if you’re worried about symptoms four weeks after having Covid.’ That was the NHS quote on the…
