Life
Aussie Life / Language
Simon Collins Can you remember when ‘We live in interesting times’ was an acceptable response to the disruptions caused by…
2489: Fade away
Each of the unclued lights, (four of two words), individually or as a pair can be linked with an unclued…
Meal kits are a recipe for mayhem
Caroline was pretty heroic during the first lockdown. She’s used to having no children to deal with between the hours…
Spectator competition winners: publishers rejecting literary classics
In Competition No. 3181 you were invited to submit a letter by a publisher rejecting a well-known literary classic. The…
Lockdown means it’s time to drink your most prized bottles of wine
Losing your sense of smell due to Covid is no joke when you make a living in food and wine.…
Dear Mary: How can we set up our single friends in lockdown?
Q. My husband and I have two single friends who we believe should be introduced. In days gone by, we…
Boris Johnson’s face can’t be ‘performative’
Veronica brought me a hundred newspapers so that I could check on one word. Well, she didn’t bring a wheelbarrow,…
Will remote-working strengthen the case for HS2?
Soon after the pandemic hit, the world’s airlines turned off their pricing algorithms and resumed pricing flights manually. Everything the…
Eccentric, artist and storyteller: in memory of my mother Doreen Sanders
Indian Ocean coast ‘I love you’ became just ‘love’, and that was the last word Mum was able to say…
Join me for weekly Scream If You’re Going Round The Bend
Never mind Clap for Carers, I’m trying to start a new weekly morale booster called Scream If You’re Going Round…
Trauma has become as American as apple pie
Gstaad Lord Belhaven and Stenton, a wonderful man and the quintessential English gentleman, died at 93 just before the end…
My future hangs on the result of this blood test
A new year and another round of medical treatments in the French health system. On Saturday morning, needing a blood…
Bridge | 16 January 2021
’Tis better to give than to receive, the Bible teaches us. Well, not if you were me this Christmas, it…
The Battle for Britain | 16 January 2021
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2487: Birthday boys - solution
December 12th was the birthday of Gustave FLAUBERT (1D) and Frank SINATRA (15). Examples of their work are MADAME BOVARY…
No. 636
Gormally–Turner, Caplin Hastings Online 2021. Black looks safe, but Gormally’s next move forced a win of material. What did he…
Missed opportunities
In game 1 of his Airthings Masters Final against Radjabov, Aronian’s pawn push 21 e4-e5 (shown in the first diagram)…
Christmas Covid Outlaw
I was sitting with one other person in a sterilised public hospital reception area waiting to be tested for COVID…
Woke for kids
Now that hate-speech has been recognised as an act of physical violence, using non-problematic language has never been more important.…
We may be locked down but Gstaad’s nightlife is going strong
Gstaad Chekhovian boredom ruled supreme, but the loss of my luggage brought instant relief. Anger beats boredom by a mile,…
Bridge | 9 January 2021
It’s so much easier to play bridge well when luck is on your side. You’ve just doubled your opponents and…
Footballers have made a pig’s ear of Covid rules
It’s the Portuguese piglet you feel really sorry for. The diminutive (ready cooked) porker — a festive delicacy all over…
2488: Clueless
The unclued lights (one of two words), when paired, have something in common. Across 5 Fly eggs not at all…
Sub-ready-meals of salt and tears: Simply Cook reviewed
Welcome to the sunlit uplands which, for me, contain small plastic tubs of stock, which is just the opening to…
Dear Mary: Should I rename my grandmother’s dog to avoid offense?
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