Life
The joy of my local paper
As usual I go downstairs at five o’clock in the morning and into the dining room, which now serves as…
My planning permission hell
When is planning permission for four loft windows actually planning permission for two? Or simultaneously vice versa? It’s a very…
Bridge
Bridge is such a complex, multi-layered game that a single hand can be approached in myriad ways, depending on the…
Morse and Lewis
The Isle of Lewis chess pieces are one of the proudest possessions of the British Museum and also the National Museum…
no. 558
White to play. This position is a variation from Ding Liren-So, Stavanger 2019. White could continue the attack with 1…
Fan mail
In Competition No. 3102 you were invited to submit a fan letter from one well-known person from the field of…
2412: Transponders
It is the centenary of a daring feat. Unclued lights (two of two words) include two surnames, two locations (two…
to 2409: Crosswords
The unclued lights are all hybrid animals whose names are formed by combining the names of the two original animals.…
It’s a scandal that the BBC can still tax anyone who owns a TV
If I were a pensioner, I’d be a bit miffed by the BBC’s decision to end the policy of giving…
The Battle for Britain
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The timing of Channel 4’s cricket highlights show is an outrage
Hardly any men can hit a tennis ball on clay better than Dominic Thiem. Unfortunately he ran into one who…
Dear Mary: Is it ever acceptable to blow my own trumpet?
Q. A friend of 30 years moved abroad three years ago. He then was diagnosed with throat cancer but mercifully…
An alternate reality in Heathrow’s Terminal 5: Fortnum & Mason reviewed
I am obsessed with Fortnum & Mason, and the jams of the England that never was but could be. It…
How many words were coined by Thomas Browne?
‘How many words will you use today, first used by Thomas Browne in the 17th century?’ asked a trailer on…
The joy of my grandson’s baptism
They were putting the finishing touches to the giant tent as I drove up to Schloss Wolfsegg after an hour’s…
Why being poor is always more expensive in the long run
Of course the varifocals I bought online were a waste of money. When they came in the post and I…
The builder b and I are engaged in a toilet war
No sooner had the builder boyfriend finished digging for no good reason in the basement than his attention turned to…
Why the Derby is the ultimate test
There is a danger that memories of the 2019 Epsom Derby will be swamped by statistics. By training his seventh…
Bridge
Stefan Skorchev, young Bulgarian international, has given us another top tier annual pairs tournament to put in our diaries —…
Spirited
An unusual tournament has taken place at the Lindores Abbey Whisky Distillery in Scotland, namely a double-round competition between four…
no. 557
White to play. This position is from Ding Liren-Anand, Lindores Abbey Stars 2019. Here White played 1 Rb8 which lost…
New ‘New Colossus’
In Competition No. 3101 you were invited to compose a contemporary take on ‘The New Colossus’, the 1883 sonnet by…
2411: Left out
Clues for ten thematically linked entries (all single words) have been left out. Across 9 Hot-rod awry? — fancy…
to 2408: End of the Line
Unclued lights are TSAR (12) NICHOLAS (5A), his son ALEXEI (33), and his predecessors PETER (3) and CATHERINE (20) THE…
Budweiser flags up how Pride has been taken over by woke corporations
Maurice Bowra, the flamboyant warden of Wadham College from 1938 to 1970, once argued against the legalisation of homosexuality on…
