Life
Polari
In discussing the German low-life cant called Rotwelsch, Mark Glanville (Books, 9 January) referred in passing to Polari, ‘the language…
Over to the dark side
In Competition No. 3182 you were invited to rewrite a famous piece of light verse with a dirge-like, hieratic tone…
Consolation fries
The Corbin & King dining and home entertaining box includes dishes from the Delaunay, the Wolseley and Brasserie Zédel ‘delivered…
Christmas crossword solution
The winners The first prize of £100, three prizes of £25 and six further prizes of Word Perfect by Susie…
Dear Mary
Q. Following the birth of our child we were deluged with cards, gifts and money from kind family and friends.…
The Battle for Britain
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Will Britannia rule the Auckland waves?
Alan Bond was a rogue and a rich man, in every way your typical Aussie larrikin. In 1983 he bankrolled…
Farewell Richard. You were the best of us
I heard the shocking news last week that one of my oldest friends — Richard Edwards — had died suddenly…
High life
Gstaad This might surprise a few people, but I was very friendly with our late co-proprietor Sir David Barclay, a…
2490: Arrangement
The unclued lights are all words of a kind arranged into anagrams (all are confirmed in Chambers: one is a…
History at Hastings
The Hastings International Chess Congress hasn’t skipped a year since the second world war, so I was delighted to learn…
Bridge
When lockdown began, all those months ago, I remember chatting to a few of England’s top players about the shift…
Low life
Here, as in Britain, everyone is a log expert. The woodman leaves a heap at the bottom of the drive…
Real life
Not long after he took on a smallholding for his cobs, the builder boyfriend found a couple walking through his…
The turf
Doing good doesn’t always work out as expected. A regular entering his local pub takes pity on an old lady…
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…
My recipe for mayhem
Caroline was pretty heroic during the first lockdown. She’s used to having no children to deal with between the hours…
Naysayers
In Competition No. 3181 you were invited to submit a letter by a publisher rejecting a well-known literary classic. The…
Open that special bottle now
Losing your sense of smell due to Covid is no joke when you make a living in food and wine.…
Dear Mary
Q. My husband and I have two single friends who we believe should be introduced. In days gone by, we…
Performative
Veronica brought me a hundred newspapers so that I could check on one word. Well, she didn’t bring a wheelbarrow,…
Flights of fancy
Soon after the pandemic hit, the world’s airlines turned off their pricing algorithms and resumed pricing flights manually. Everything the…
Wild life
Indian Ocean coast ‘I love you’ became just ‘love’, and that was the last word Mum was able to say…
Real life
Never mind Clap for Carers, I’m trying to start a new weekly morale booster called Scream If You’re Going Round…
