Life
A nicer side of Nero
New York I haven’t felt such shirt-dripping, mind-clogging wet heat since Saigon back in 1971. The Bagel is a steam…
Kiwi Life
Of the various little stories about the rather wonderful Joni Mitchell in her early years, my favourite concerns Leonard Cohen.…
Kiwi Language
A friend of mine recently sent me a notice from a big law firm announcing the introduction of ‘Gender Affirmation…
2507: Knightly? - solution
The unclued lights are characters and places associated with King Arthur. First prize Belinda Bridgen, London NW8 Runners-up John Samson,…
2510: Prom session
Twelve symmetrically disposed unclued entries comprise three distinct interlinked quartets. Across 1 Precise conjecture about coin-flip, oddly (8) 6…
The back-rank mate
Compared with Anastasia’s mate, or an epaulette mate, the humble back-rank mate is named without imagination or whimsy. It is…
No. 657
Black to play. Vodopyanov–Kantsyn, 1974. Two bishops up, White appears to have everything covered. Which move allows Black to force…
The curious parable of Dartington
I spent last weekend in south Devon at Dartington, the former estate of Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, and now a…
The Battle for Britain | 12 June 2021
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The art of negotiating with French nurses
‘Ça va, Monsieur Clarke?’ said a nurse when he noticed I was stirring. It was an effort to speak. ‘Thirsty,’…
The Derby was a game of musical saddles
We all know it takes courage to win races over jumps, along with athleticism, stamina and speed. But you need…
Dear Mary: How can we avoid getting stuck with a useless cleaner?
Your problems solved
Ollie Robinson’s ritual humiliation
One of the more egregious innovations of Chairman Mao’s cultural revolution was something called the ‘struggle sessions’. This involved the…
Bridge | 12 June 2021
I would never say that bridge is just a game — for many of us, it’s a lifetime’s vocation. However,…
The truth about Surrey’s obsession with horse masks
A saloon car pulled up opposite our fields and a man sat there looking at the horses with a bewildered…
The difference between ‘sliver’ and ‘slither’ is a piece of cake
When people say a slither of cake, do they not remember that snakes slither? ‘Slither slide; sliver small piece,’ says…
A careful parody: Noble Rot Soho reviewed
Noble Rot sits in Greek Street, Soho, on the site of the old Gay Hussar, which squatted here from 1953…
P.G. Wodehouse’s Aunts Among the Chickens
In Competition No. 3202, you were invited to replace the word ‘love’ in a well-known book title of your choice…
In praise of chastity
New York It’s party time in the Bagel, or at least private party time. Yours truly is an extra man…
Aussie Life
The cold snap enveloping much of NSW at time of writing won’t help regional communities battling the mouse plague, such…
Aussie Language
A campaign is needed against the word ‘partner’—so I have started one. It was launched on Peta Credlin’s program on…
The rise of the pluto-meritocracy
Meritocracy, a word coined by my father, gets a bad press these days. Two recent books — The Meritocracy Trap…
Taking charge: it’s time to buy an electric car
As a wise colleague once said: ‘Yesterday is a great time to buy a computer, because you have already enjoyed…
Dear Mary: How do we tell our friend that her hairstyle doesn’t suit her?
Q. At a lunch party, I was getting on so well with someone I had not met before. She knew…
The Battle for Britain | 5 June 2021
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