Life
When Brexiter meets Catalexiter
After the hostel breakfast, I stood on the tropical grass lawn smoking the first fag of the day and mulled…
I’ve finally found out the truth about my horse-riding nemesis
She was a trade union activist, she told me. She wanted a second referendum. Well, they all do. I’m starting…
Bridge
Nothing is ever routine or boring when Alex Hydes is at the table. One of England’s best players, he’s a…
A good year for Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen is the star attraction at this year’s London Chess Classic. The festival, now in its 11th edition, runs…
no. 582
Black to play. Zelcic–Melkumyan, Tournament of Peace, November 2019. Melkumyan enjoys a big endgame advantage, and he found a cute…
What’s in a name?
In Competition No. 3126 you were invited to rearrange the letters of the names of poets (e.g. Basho: ‘has B.O.’)…
2436: The Devil’s Own
The unclued lights, including one of two words, comprise two adjectives and six nouns. All share a common origin and…
to 2433: House and garden
The painters were Millais (suggested by BOXING MATCH/SLOTHS: 1A/9D), Constable (GYP/FIRM: 7A/35), Gainsborough (EARNS/BROOKLYN: 29/24) and Landseer (NATION/SOOTHSAYER: 30/19). …
Panto should be about escapism, not saving the planet
If you were hoping to escape the bilge that’s been pumped out by supposedly neutral organs of the state during…
The Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Why Ben Stokes should win Sports Personality of the Year
Oh those lazy, hazy, Stokesy days of summer: how long ago they seem now. When England won the cricket World…
Dear Mary: How do I stop getting lumbered with the washing up on weekends away?
Q. A friend, who is very careful with his money, occasionally invites a group of six to eight out to…
Nauseating, but I like the garlic bread: Legoland Windsor reviewed
The theme music to Legoland in Berkshire is the theme music to The Exorcist. It appears from speakers hidden in…
Where did ‘decuman’ come from?
‘What made you chase that hare?’ asked my husband with rare geniality. John Ruskin was to blame. He asked James…
The cops are impotent in lawless New York
New York Things are heating up, in both London and Nueva York, as this place should correctly be called.…
The lessons I learned cycling across Rwanda
The backmarker of the peloton was Eric, a tall, stick-thin Rwandan. Under his cycling helmet he wore a baseball cap…
How you can tell the gender of a thief
My attempt at being Columbo was only taking me so far. In solving the mystery of who raided the barn,…
Cheltenham was the perfect antidote to election politics
I can only be sorry for the 67,496,581 citizens of the UK who were not at Cheltenham last Saturday. For…
Bridge
Well, it has taken 12 years, two relegations, one second place and endless ‘nowheres’ playing the Premier League and we…
A fresh approach
Reimagine democracy. Reimagine capitalism. Reimagine education. For all the reimagining thrown at big ideas, they don’t seem much perturbed. You…
no. 581
Bagi–Zvjaginsev, Montenegro 2019. Black to play. 61… Ke6 looks obvious, but Zvjaginsev preferred 61… Rg6! and White resigned instead of…
First or last
In Competition No. 3125 you were invited to compose a comically appalling first or final paragraph of the memoir of…
2435: A little puzzle
Unclued lights, two of two words, are of a kind, verifiable in Brewer. Elsewhere, ignore two accents. Across 12 …
to 2432: Getting dry
The DODO (30) organised the CAUCUS RACE (12) to get dry. Participants included ALICE (2), EAGLET (7), DUCK (17), MOUSE…
Prince Andrew should have married someone like my wife
Like many people, I watched Prince Andrew’s Newsnight meltdown with mounting disbelief. Why had he agreed to do it? It…
