Life
I’ll never again set foot in the Eagle Club
Gstaad A couple of columns ago I wrote about an incident that took place at the Eagle Club here in…
Has Provence cured my cancer?
During the past three years I have spent quite a bit of time in a rented house in Provence. Volets…
I’m mad as hell and not going to take it any more!
‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!’ I screamed through the window of the…
Bridge
Colin Simpson, who has died after a long illness at the age of 69, was a star both at the…
Kramnik’s Immortal
Every so often a game is played which is worthy of joining the immortals in the pantheon of chessboard masterpieces.…
no. 498
Black to play. This position is a variation from today’s game Aronian-Kramnik, Berlin 2018. How can Black briskly conclude his…
Averse to verse
In Competition No. 3040 you were invited to submit a poem against poets or poetry. Plato started it, but…
2351: Triplets
Unclued lights form three sets of three, each set related in a different way to a theme-word which is hidden…
to 2348: It’s a trap
‘Now is the woodcock near the gin’, said by Fabian in Twelfth Night, suggests the position of BECASSE in relation…
If Corbyn wins, emigrating to Israel is my clear escape route
I’m currently in Israel on a press trip organised by Bicom — the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre. Bicom…
The Battle for Britain
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Two perfect kicks from Johnny Sexton destroyed England’s rugby’s dream
Which would you least like to see coming towards you? An Uber driverless car, Ant McPartlin in his black Mini…
Dear Mary: How can I tell a friend her mole is disgusting?
Q. Recently, during a stay in a luxurious mountain hotel in Italy, and having hurt my knee skiing, I was…
Too good for the kleptocrats of Knightsbridge: Harry’s Dolce Vita reviewed
In 2007 Mikhael Gorbachev starred in a Louis Vuitton advert. He was driven past the Berlin Wall with Louis Vuitton…
Why should the body be immune from being hacked about?
A 72-year-old Australian called Stelarc, the BBC reported, has an ear growing from one arm. He hopes to connect a…
Virtual currencies will be our salvation
Gstaad I never made it to Zurich but met up with Steve Bannon through the miracle of technology, thanks to…
Me, General de Gaulle and an elderly barbecued lesbian
The flight from Gatwick to France was cancelled and there was no prospect of another for three days. Paddington station…
Save me from stupid women
We live in a cynical world. One cannot simply advertise something for sale and expect people to believe what one…
Do horses really need solariums and therapeutic rugs?
In the days when it was fashionable to mock the IQ of an American President who had taken the showbiz…
Bridge
Little did I know, when I was railing at how Britain comes to a standstill at the first flurry of…
First round nerves
The three most important events in the World Chess Federation calendar are the World Championship match, the Olympiad and the…
no. 497
White to play. This position is from Kramnik-Andreikin, Tal Memorial 2018. White now finished off quickly. What did he play?…
Doing words
In Competition No. 3039, which was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s phenomenally successful memoir Eat, Pray, Love, you were invited to…
2350: Pieces
The unclued lights, (two of two words), individually or as a pair, are of a kind and can be resolved…
to 2347: Capital letters
The unclued lights are LETTERS in alphabetical order which, when rearranged, give the names of eight CAPITAL cities. First prize Lucy…
