Life
By George
In Competition No. 3137, to mark the 70th anniversary of George Orwell’s death, you were invited to submit a short…
2446: Spring time
Each clue defines the full solution to which the letter-count refers. However, the cryptic wordplay leads to the grid entry,…
to 2443: Middle of the road
Each unclued light is a genus name of a TREE (i.e. ‘middle of the road’ = (s)TREE(t)). Cornus was also allowed…
How far should we go to defend free speech?
This week sees the official launch of the Free Speech Union — an organisation that stands up for the speech…
The Battle for Britain
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Tyson Fury, the colossusweight star
Thankfully, Tyson Fury is as good at boxing as he is terrible at singing. But he really should pick on…
Dear Mary
Q. I adore doing jigsaws and these days there’s an added bonus — by posting my progress on Instagram I…
What waste!
Ugly Butterfly is a zero-waste restaurant and champagne bar on the King’s Road, Chelsea. The ‘champagne bar’ addition is so…
Elbow
Before the Covid-19 scare I never thought that one particular Spanish proverb would come in useful. It goes: ‘Los ojos…
High Life
Gstaad I was not aware that there is a group of Spectatorfans who meet in French-speaking Switzerland. They contacted me…
Low life
Seven round the table for dinner. Wild mushroom risotto. I was told to sit next to Michael. Good. Michael makes…
Real life
Mr Benn has been in touch because he wants a right of reply to an article I wrote about my…
The turf
Few jumpers have a better record at Ascot than the Paul Nicholls-trained Cyrname. He triumphed in the Betfair Chase at…
Bridge
I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the Rimstedts and their children get together over supper. One…
Confidence tricks
Three consecutive losses in a tournament is dryly termed ‘castling queenside’, in reference to the chess notation for that move…
No. 592
Black to play, Kateryna Lagno–Ju Wenjun, February 2020. Material is approximately balanced, but White’s king is in serious danger. What…
3136: Love me don’t
In Competition No. 3136 you were invited to submit a lonely hearts ad guaranteed to send those looking for love…
2445: In other words II
41, 1A, 10 (seven words in total) is a description of a phenomenon. Remaining unclued lights, including one of two…
2442: Don’t nod solution
ROTAVATOR (4A), NAURUAN (12), DEED (25), DEIFIED (36), MALAYALAM (39), REIFIER (4D), TERRET (15D), and REPAPER (18) are palindromes as…
Panic attacks at the comedy club
It was on my ‘bucket list’, but that doesn’t mean it was a sensible thing to do. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro…
The Battle for Britain
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Wireless disconnection
In the recent debate over Britain’s 5G infrastructure, one dog didn’t bark in the night. At no point did anyone…
Dear Mary
Q. I see a lot of two of our grandchildren because they live in our London house. We are centrally…
Of the first water
Peaty water ought to be classed as a luxury. You have spent a day on the hill, a’chasing the deer.…
Connectivity
Facebook recently told readers of the Sun that satellites could ‘bring broadband connectivity to rural regions where internet connectivity is…
