Life
Poor Ole wasn’t cut out for Man U
Manchester United have ended up with a temporary coach before they look for an interim manager. Haven’t we heard that…
Real life
Surprise, surprise. The person who had the shield taken out of the street light so it shone back into my…
Ramp down
Language change outdoes nonsense, just as misbehaviour outdoes satire. In Through the Looking-Glass Alice mentions to the Gnat that, where…
Low life
After checking me in, the receptionist, who was wearing an overcoat, said: ‘There is no heating in the hotel. The…
The world championship
‘Time to say Dubai,’ tweeted Magnus Carlsen, like some wry Bond villain, when he learned that the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi…
Puzzle No. 681
White to play. Erigaisi–Liem, Tata Steel Rapid, 2021. Here 1 Rxf6? Qd1+ sees White getting mated on the back rank.…
Show time
In Competition No. 3226, you were invited to rewrite, in pompous and prolix style, any well-known simple poem. The seed…
Solution To 2531: Villainy
The unclued lights are VILLAINS encountered by James Bond. First prize Ian Skillen, Cambuslang, Glasgow Runners-up Liz Knights, Walton Highway,…
Aussie Life
You know the royals are in trouble when a prominent member of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy writes an article suggesting…
Aussie Language
It’s that time of the year again—when dictionaries around the world start announcing their chosen ‘Word of the Year’. First…
2533: Monday’s Child
A nine-word phrase (in five unclued lights, two used twice) opens a work for 1A (three words) by 8 (two…
Battle for Britain
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Uranus
I had thought there were two pronunciations of Uranus. My husband, still capable of distinguishing the anatomical from the planetary,…
Taking back control
A friend of mine recently visited a company in Europe which plans to manufacture human-carrying, pilotless drones. These would be…
Low life
Foolishly I chose new specs in the village optician’s after a long lunch: a rather outré design that I might…
High life
New York I’ve never met anyone called Othello, certainly not in Venice nor in Cyprus, but perhaps there are men…
Real life
The street lamp as bright as the Dog Star is back to its full glare outside my house. I won…
Israel’s heady Heights
‘Where is this from?’ my friend asked, handing me a wine glass. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon, high in alcohol,…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. We have recently installed security cameras in our remote holiday house in the south of France and I was…
The day I became a prize contrarian
Something rather unusual happened to me a few weeks ago: I was shortlisted for a prize. Not the GQ Men…
Bridge
The Champion’s Cup is an annual competition for the national champions from 12 European countries. As my team won the…
Puzzle No. 680
White to play and win. The conclusion of an endgame study by Henri Rinck. The imminent promotion of the g-pawn…
Lancashire hotpot
Nine months ago, after a decade spent in London, I moved to Lancashire. Although I’m a northerner born and bred,…
Wild life
Kenya Each time I sit in St Bride’s on Fleet Street during the memorial of another friend, I look around…
Solution to 2530: Ups and downs
The quotation is ‘LAUGH, AND THE WORLD LAUGHS WITH YOU; WEEP, AND YOU WEEP ALONE’ from Solitude by Ella Wheeler…
