Life
I’m all for abolishing flying: first-class on a liner is far more fun
Gstaad It’s party time here. From the richest billionaires down to those impoverished souls with only a few million…
The strange people who keep a nightly vigil over my mother
To begin with it was mice. The house was overrun with them. She saw them out of the corner of…
From Swarfega to cleanse and polish: my long path to perfect skin
‘Is it for your daughter?’ said the sales assistant as I pointed to an expensive skincare product. She had glided…
Bridge
Is it my imagination, or are we bridge players far more aggressive than we were a decade ago? I don’t…
Rock solid
This year’s Gibraltar Masters saw some surprising results at the top, chiefly the victory by the young Russian, Vladimir Artemiev,…
no. 542
White to play. This position is taken from Galinsky–Gunina, Gibraltar 2019. How can White finish off in this complicated position?…
Writer’s block
In Competition No. 3086 you were invited to submit a poem about the difficulty of writing a poem. In…
2396: Reader…,
Unclued lights are a set of literary 40s. Their creator is hidden in the grid and should be shaded. Elsewhere,…
to 2393: Monster Mash-up
HORROR FILM (1D) ACTOR (15) BORIS (10) KARLOFF (26), né PRATT (21A) died on 2 February 1969. Most famous for…
The Battle for Britain
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There’s space for a new party in Britain, but not for another SDP
I was 17 when the Labour party last split, in January 1981, and for a variety of reasons got quite…
We football romantics love the fifth round of the FA cup
And so we say farewell to the round of 16 in the FA Cup, traditionally a viscerally thrilling process that…
![[istockphoto.com]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/iStock_962573364.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
Dear Mary: how can I hide that I’m no longer drinking?
Q. I have given up drink except on certain occasions when it would be really rude to refuse. What’s the…
A temple to small food in a room for rich people: the Ledbury in Notting Hill reviewed
A serious restaurant for serious times: the Ledbury in Notting Hill. It’s a good time to do it, as the…
There’s a lot of interrogating going on – and not just by policemen
My husband sat in his usual chair, interrogating the contents of his whisky glass with his old, tired nose. In…
Faithless husbands can be the best husbands
Gstaad Who was it that said we always hurt those we love the most? I did just that last…
‘I don’t know how ever Jerry stands it’: diary of a world war one artillery man
My sister’s boyfriend is a solitary man and easily overwhelmed by another’s presence. On his rare visits he flits in…
Why I could kiss Mark Zuckerberg
Since posting some of my research into the RSPCA on Facebook, I now better understand the way social networking works.…
Did the BHA call it right on equine flu?
The pre-war Fabians Sidney and Beatrice Webb apparently had a pre-marriage agreement. It wasn’t like today’s Hollywood prenups, designed to…
Bridge
Two of the best (and most enjoyable) Pairs and Teams tournaments of the year have just finished, and I miss…
Homage to Kramnik
The former world champion Vladimir Kramnik recently announced his retirement from competitive chess. He is one of the greats of the…
no. 541
Black to play. This position is from Gelfand–Kramnik, Berlin 1996. This is one of Kramnik’s finest finishes. Can you spot…
What’s not to love
In Competition No. 3085 you were invited to submit a poem in dispraise of Valentine’s Day. The day is said…
2395: Concise crossword
The seven clues below have to be interpreted cryptically and are then entered in the grid where they will fit.…
to 2392: Beknighted
The unclued lights (10/1D, 11, 23/38, 29D/28 and 39) received knighthoods or a DBE in the recent New Year’s Honours List.…
