Life
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…
2477: Rendezvous - solution
The unclued lights take an extra letter to make BRAMBLING (1A), BUDGIE (12A), STARLING (14A), REDSTART (23A), BRANCHER (27A), TURACO…
I’m now considered a freak in New York
New York It’s nice to finally be in the Bagel, a place where the cows have two legs and no…
I removed my mask and all hell broke loose
The girl in the posh soap shop put her right arm out, palm flat in my face, and shouted: ‘Stand…
Bridge | 24 October 2020
When (if) the world returns to normal and live bridge tournaments resume, there are two things I will miss after…
Back to Exmoor, scene of prep-school rides on rough ponies
Exmoor I am heading to Exmoor for the first time since I was last there in 1977 — and as…
Sweet surrender
It’s over. Magnus Carlsen’s undefeated streak in classical chess has finally come to an end, after 125 games. It is…
No. 627
Black to play. Sjugirov–Paravyan, Russian Higher League, October 2020. A piece for a pawn down, Black’s follow up was subtle…
2480: Warning
Solvers should heed a warning when deducing ten symmetrically placed unclued lights (two of three words and one of two…
Economies of scale
In Competition No. 3171, a challenge suggested by a kind reader, you were invited to submit a requiem in verse…
Why are the devolved nations so ungrateful?
One of the things I hadn’t anticipated about the pandemic is that it would turn me into an English nationalist.…
The Battle for Britain | 24 October 2020
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