Life
2422: 40 furlongs
The unclued Across lights are of a kind, as are the unclued Down ones, all verifiable in Chambers. Across…
to 2419: Figures in place
The unclued lights are English place names which include a number in their spelling. These words appeared as figures in the…
I’m back on the ‘public humiliation diet’ – thanks to my kids
I’m on holiday with my family in Turks and Caicos, and maintaining my current weight is proving difficult. Regular readers…
The Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Bring out the biltong for Labuschagne, an Ashes hero
Funny, the things cricketers put on their bats. England’s Jos Buttler has ‘Fuck it’ written at the top of his…
Dear Mary: How can my son tell if his cleaner is stealing from him?
Q. What is your view on emailed vs handwritten thank-yous? During my recent travels around pre-Brexit Europe I stayed in…
Like Twitter, but with food: Market Hall Victoria reviewed
The Market Hall Victoria is an international food shed opposite the station terminus. I have long hated Victoria, thinking it…
Are our feelings towards politics apathy or inertia?
My husband, with a dependable appetite for chestnuts, says he would be the ideal person to start an Apathy party.…
Another birthday has got me down, but the alternative is being dead
If it hadn’t arrived I’d be dead, but it was hardly welcome: another birthday — 38 years old on 11…
A day spent in Oncology
A 20-minute drive through quiet country lanes then suddenly a madcap roundabout and teeming new ring road and finally the…
I’ve always enjoyed myself on Wayfair – but this time I’ve had enough
One thing Lorraine Kelly does not say in the Wayfair advert is: ‘What if I fancy getting my money back…
Why do race-goers have to subsidise the post-sport entertainment?
Before this year’s Shergar Cup meeting all I had seen of Australian flat jockey Mark Zahra was a memorably painful…
Zugger zugged
The German expression zugzwang means ‘compulsion to move’ and is most often seen in the endgame. Consider the following position…
no. 567
White to play. This position is from Alekhine-Nimzowitsch, San Remo 1930. Can you spot the quiet move that puts black…
Spanish eyes
In Competition No. 3111 you were invited to submit William Topaz McGonagall’s poetic response to Magaluf. The Tayside Tragedian…
2421: Tina
‘40/37/1A’, as he has been called, was born in 28 (two words) and died in 30/36. He was a reluctant…
to 2418: Sweet
Unclued lights are all sweet wines. WESTERNISED, an anagram of DESSERT WINE, was to be highlighted.  First prize Erin Barrack,…
By taking on grouse-shooting, Labour is risking rural jobs
The Glorious Twelfth this year, signalling the start of the grouse-shooting season, was overshadowed by a Labour party press release…
The Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Looking for a new idea? Try borrowing an old one
Recently I suggested a new approach to commuter-train overcrowding. It simply involved reformulating the problem by accepting that not all…
Dear Mary: How can I politely turn down friends’ sponsorship requests?
Q. I want my guests to feel welcome when they stay with us and certainly don’t want to nag them.…
Like Team Boris, I’m staying in London this summer
Foolish me. I could have been writing this by the shore of Lake Trasimene, with only one problem: how to…
What to call an inferior politician?
‘What about poetaster, then?’ asked my husband accusingly, looking up from his whisky and the Spectator, in which I’d ruminated…
Standing on the Acropolis brings out the Greek in me
Athens I am struggling up the slippery marble steps of the Acropolis with the Geldofs and the Bismarcks. We gaze…
Do I have cancer in my left eye?
My luck had to run out one of these fine days. Everybody’s does sooner or later. I’ve had a fantastic…
