Life
Sporting spectacles to look forward to in lockdown
‘At least there’s sport,’ said the woman in the supermarket queue. True enough, and in a welcome sop to an…
The Battle for Britain | 7 November 2020
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What I’ll miss most in Lockdown II
A second lockdown won’t cause me much suffering. I don’t have a shop selling ‘non-essential’ goods (e.g. books) that will…
No. 629
White to play and mate in 3. A puzzle featured in The Queen’s Gambit, apparently composed by W. Atkinson in…
Bridge | 7 November 2020
How many times have we had it hammered into us: ‘When dummy goes down, plan the play’? Well, if we…
Dear Mary: How can I wind up a Zoom call with a chatty friend?
Q. Is there a tactful way to wind up a Zoom call when one of you has more time on…
Aussie Life
Simon Collins As soon as distance ceases once again to be a tyranny for Australians I will visit my elderly…
2478: Namesakes - solution
The lyrics of the perimetric I’M POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN and FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN were written by Sammy Lerner,…
My Covid risk assessment
Classes of people at moderate risk from Covid-19. Addenda to current NHS guidelines. Those at risk from coronavirus now include…
Collapsing barricades
Geometry shmometry. The pirouette of a knight may be pleasing to the eye, but sometimes what I really crave is…
Will my election night party end in fisticuffs?
New York Election fever is heating up and I hope the party I’m giving on the evening of 3 November…
We’ve gone from summer to winter in the course of an afternoon
Wearing shorts last week in a mid-October heatwave, having worn shorts continuously since March, Les Murray’s poem ‘The Dream of…
My confusing life on the border of Tiers 1 and 2
As I scoffed down a fabulous supper in a candlelit room full of ecstatic diners, it struck me that this…
A toast to Tim Beardson
I am in an Eliot mood, not a Keatsian one. ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ is a surprisingly… mellow…
The real problem with the Fatima advert
An advertisement from GCHQ provoked angry comment because it seemed to suggest that some ballet dancers would be better working…
There’s nothing neutral about Wikipedia
A couple of weeks ago Newsweek ran an article attacking Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, for engaging in a…
Bridge | 31 October 2020
I know its only October, but I’ve already found the perfect Christmas present for bridge-lovers: Simon Cochemé’s new book, Bridge…
The Battle for Britain | 31 October 2020
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‘Today we have naming of tiers…’: poems about coronavirus messaging
In Competition No. 3172 you were invited to submit a poem about the government’s coronavirus messaging. Many of you, nudged…
No. 628
White to play. Wade–Korchnoi, Buenos Aires, 1960. Bob Wade’s next move prepared a surprising and decisive breakthrough. What did he…
Nowhere does racing quite like Cheltenham, even behind closed doors
With or without the crowds, nowhere does racing like Cheltenham. The four winners, including her first Group One shared equally…
Dear Mary: Why is my brother making me pay £400 for a drawing of my cat?
Q. I would welcome your advice on a tricky family matter. For my 70th birthday earlier this year my brother…
2481: Octet
19 across (two words) is commonly associated with an octet. Each member of the octet defines one further unclued light.…
Aussie Life & Language
Michael Scammell Coming out of Melbourne lockdown is like coming down from drugs. Or more precisely coming down from the…
The generosity of French doctors
My last NHS scan showed a shadow on a rib. The scan report couldn’t decide between a new cancer metastasis…
