Life
Puzzle no. 644
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Philip Hamilton Williams, Birmingham Post, 1890. Answers should be emailed…
We’ll always have Paris
Some friends claim to be making marks on the wall to count the days until liberation. Ah, the forgotten delights…
Dear Mary
Q. I hesitate to bring you this problem, but I suspect it is not that uncommon. Early in our very…
Cross purposes
I was once asked by a previous editor of the Timeshow to increase sales of the paper. I was slightly…
Formica
If I ever again accompany my husband to a medical conference in Spain, and want to tell my hosts that…
The battle for Britain
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Real life
‘Have you had your jab, Margery?’ said one Surrey lady to another in the queue for take-away coffee at the…
How I learned to love audio books
According to a charity called Fight For Sight, 38 per cent of people who’ve been using screens more during lockdown…
Low life
Around the time that poor M. Macron was casting televised aspersions on the AstraZeneca jab, I was offered one by…
Wild life
Laikipia In one of Kenya farmer Karen Blixen’s short stories, a character says: ‘I know of a cure for everything:…
2497: Scramble
Six unclued lights (three of two words) are of a kind, associated with the 16’s 11s, and overseen by 28.…
Armenian champions
In the 21st century, which country has won more international chess Olympiads than any other? Russia? USA? China? None of…
High life
Gstaad I was very sad to read of Rupert Hambro’s death. I didn’t know him well, but first met him…
to 2494: Back to front
Unclued lights are from the ‘Looking Glass’ poem Jabberwocky. First prize Alison Peck, Mathry, PembrokeshireRunners-up Patricia Gibbs, Barrow upon Soar,…
Heaven scent
In Competition No. 3189 you were invited to submit a poem about a favourite smell. This challenge certainly seemed to…
Bridge
One benefit of lockdown is that there is much more time for reading. My personal favourite bridge book is Play…
Aussie Life
If you asked a roomful of Poms to list Winston Churchill’s greatest achievements, few would put ‘introducing the minimum wage’…
Aussie Language
The expression ‘unconscious bias’ is back in the headlines. First came the good news that Oxford’s Somerville college had rescinded…
High life
Gstaad That’s all we needed in a great year: copyright has expired on The Great Gatsby. Some Fitzgerald wannabe has…
Cut the poor ref some slack
Rugby has enough problems — from baffling rule changes to concussion — without the referees muddying the pitch even more.…
Dear Mary
Q. Recently an old acquaintance, notorious for never penning a ‘thank you’ note, emailed me telling me he was being…
Outside the box
The Stein’s at Home steak menu box (£65) says ‘Love from Cornwall’: it is not for people who live in…
Similar to
‘Blame Kingsley Amis,’ said my husband, with the carelessness of one defying a man out of earshot. The blame, such…
Real life
‘We’re sorry your experience with us has not been a good one,’ said the press officer at Surrey Police. ‘You…
Bridge
This is a great time to be a young bridge player. When I took up the game in my twenties,…
