Life
Dear Mary
Q. I import a range of very high-quality food products from Europe into the UK. They are regarded as the…
Not my bag
Hip Chips is a specialist crisp restaurant in Old Compton Street, Soho; no, it is stupider than that. It is…
High life
A famous epigrammatic nugget of wisdom appears in The Leopard, Lampedusa’s great novel about a noble Sicilian family’s fortunes: ‘If…
The Battle for Britain
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Low life
‘Yours?’ I said to the woman watching the mechanic poring over the latest-shape Renault Mégane for faults. (I was waiting…
Narrative
Laura Kuenssberg was right. Even my husband agreed, and he often throws soiled beermats from an unknown source (which he…
Real life
All had gone suspiciously quiet down our little track on the village green, and we had begun to think we…
Pakistan and the power of redemption
The Pakistan supporter was festooned in cream and green, and carried a chalkboard round his neck with the legend: ‘My…
Panic of the playwrights
Earlier this week the Guardian launched ‘Brexit Shorts’, a series of monologues written by Britain’s ‘leading playwrights’ about the aftermath…
The Battle for Britain
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Low life
French supermarket cashiers won’t be hurried. Nor will their customers, many of whom seem caught out by a bill at…
Trooping the Colour
Language is a weapon to do down others. ‘He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!’ said Estella disdainfully of Pip…
Real life
And so, as it must, the pilgrimage to find a local GP surgery begins. This is a great British tradition,…
Nick’s a visionary – he deserves a second chance
I first met Nick Timothy in July 2015. He had just been appointed director of New Schools Network, the free…
Universities should offer one-year courses
In every respect bar one, those bloody Corbyn-supporting students have a much tougher time of it than I did, what…
Bridge
How is it possible to be assigned four ‘away’ matches on the trot? Strange, but that’s how it was for…
Stavanger
The powerful tournament in Stavanger, Norway, draws to a close at the end of this week. World champion Magnus Carlsen…
no. 461
White to play. This is a variation from Karjakin-Giri, Stavanger 2017. Can you spot White’s fine winning coup? Answers to…
Song for Europe
In Competition No. 3002 you were invited to provide lyrics to the European anthem. The anthem has as its…
to 2311: Keith II
The unclued lights, as well as KEITH, are Scottish place names. TARBERT was required at 28A, rather than LARBERT. First prize Una…
Dear Mary
Q. Having retired, my husband is now an enthusiastic observer of the goldfinches, greenfinches and bullfinches in our garden. Their…
Uncorking the past
I have been thinking about the Dark Ages. This has nothing to do with Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn. A…
High life
I was busy explaining to a 23-year-old American girl by the name of Jennifer why the election result was not…
2314: 4÷4=8
The unclued four-letter words can be paired in a particular way to form the remaining unclued lights, one of two…
Bridge
Every time I read Andrew Robson’s bridge column and he mentions that ‘a reader from wherever’ sent him an interesting…
