Life
The law is an ass
In Competition No. 2950 you were invited to propose a new and ludicrous piece of legislation along with a justification…
Your problems solved
Q. We moved recently and new neighbours invited us to join them for dinner at a nearby restaurant. I planned…
A hell-cat in heaven
Over the weekend I officiated at a funeral. Earlier in the morning there had been lowering rain clouds, but by…
High life
Write about things you really know was the advice Papa Hemingway offered wannabe writers, so here goes: the French Open…
Long life
It was a famous American editor and columnist Michael Kinsley who once defined the political ‘gaffe’ as something that occurs…
Long life
It was a famous American editor and columnist Michael Kinsley who once defined the political ‘gaffe’ as something that occurs…
Low life
Hours before boarding the cross-Channel car ferry, I received a text message from the company warning of severe fuel shortages…
Low life
Hours before boarding the cross-Channel car ferry, I received a text message from the company warning of severe fuel shortages…
Including
Just as, in writing, many people use an exclamation mark to indicate that they have made a joke, so there…
Real life
Turns out you can’t eat grass. A horse does something clever to it in its mouth that humans can’t. Fine,…
Call yourself a friend?
Should we be surprised that friendship isn’t always mutual? That is one of the findings of a team of researchers…
Call yourself a friend?
Should we be surprised that friendship isn’t always mutual? That is one of the findings of a team of researchers…
A monkey-brained case for Donald Trump
A few years ago I was asked to speak at a conference in New York. ‘Where would be the best…
Bridge
The Hubert Phillips Bowl is one of my favourite tournaments of the year: a friendly, knockout event with a rather…
Drinking partner
In Competition No. 2949 you were invited to submit a poem about sharing a drink with a famous writer. I…
Cannes, exclusive? I’ve met classier crowds in brothels
New York Let’s face it, sleaze is to professional party-givers what jail is to a burglar, an occupational hazard. I’ve…
My manhood is hanging in the balance
We cleared the kitchen table for a game of pick-up sticks. Remember them? Thirty long, thin bamboo sticks, their differing…
What on earth was the girl from Taiwan doing in my bedroom?
After a tense two week stand-off, the Balham Airbnb Crisis has been resolved. My upstairs neighbour and I have drawn…
What the world looked like after my brain haemorrhage
When your mind suddenly goes wonky, you may be the one person who doesn’t realise that there is something wrong…
The art of picking winners on the Flat
‘After a few decades of marriage a man ought to be able to recognise his own wife,’ Mrs Oakley observed…
Bridge
If you live in (or anywhere near) London, and you enjoy a good teams tournament, you could do no better…
Garry’s comeback
To great surprise, the former world champion Garry Kasparov staged a brief comeback when he participated in a blitz tournament…
No. 410
Black to play. This position is from So-Nakamura, Ultimate Blitz Challenge, Saint Louis 2016. How did Black make a key…
2262: Numbers game
The unclued Across lights are of one linguistic kind and the unclued Down lights are of another, all of which…
To 2259: Eco
The unclued lights can be preceded by GREEN which had to be shaded in green, as indicated in the solution…
