Life
A game of chess with my grandson and a dead mouse
The younger grandson, Klynton, four, has got in the habit recently of thrusting his hands in my trouser pockets and…
Penury dictates that I find more lucrative work — but I can’t afford to
My adventures in penury land me with two job applications on my screen, one for MI6, one for Sainsbury’s. Do…
Trying to smear Europhiles just makes me more pro-EU
Forgive me if I feel a little depressed at the moment. There are a lot of contributory factors — among…
Bridge
Well done to Janet and her team for their victory at the London Easter Congress. My own team — David…
Sergey’s sensation
Sergey Karjakin, who in 2002 became the world’s youngest-ever grandmaster at the age of 12 years and seven months, has…
No. 403
White to play. This is a variation from Aronian-Svidler, Moscow 2016. In this game Aronian misplayed his attack and Svidler…
Gender reassignment
In Competition No. 2942 you were invited to submit a rhyme incorporating the lines ‘What are little girls made of?’…
2255: In the pink
Four unclued lights (eight words in all) form a phrase describing an activity. The other unclued lights give the author,…
To 2252: Writer deploys me
The works were Striding Folly (anagram of 11/22), Whose Body? (36/1D), The Nine Tailors (2/48), Strong Poison (9/30) and Gaudy…
A big hand for the two-faced tax hacks of the Guardian
Something odd happened at the Guardian on Monday as the paper’s editorial staff were basking in the glow of their…
Battle for Britain
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What makes Argos worth £1.4 billion? I reckon I know
When I was at school in the 1970s, some of the richer kids would come back from their summer holidays…
Dear Mary: How can I make a conversation-stopping gaffe go away?
Q. What should a host do when a guest says something so embarrassing in front of the assembled company that…
The kindest man in the Bordeaux wine business
There was a moment during the war when De Gaulle was being more than usually impossible. Roosevelt, furious, asked Churchill…
The tangled story of dreadlocks, from Milton to YouTube
‘Why are you filming this?’ ‘For everyone’s safety.’ Those are the last words in a 46-second video that was watched…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Sergey’s sensation
Sergey Karjakin, who in 2002 became the world’s youngest-ever grandmaster at the age of 12 years and seven months, has…
No. 403
White to play. This is a variation from Aronian-Svidler, Moscow 2016. In this game Aronian misplayed his attack and Svidler…
Gender reassignment
In Competition No. 2942 you were invited to submit a rhyme incorporating the lines ‘What are little girls made of?’…
Dear Mary
Q. What should a host do when a guest says something so embarrassing in front of the assembled company that…
A gentleman of Bordeaux
There was a moment during the war when De Gaulle was being more than usually impossible. Roosevelt, furious, asked Churchill…
High life
New York Even after all these years, I’m still at times floored by the scale of the place. And…
Long life
Forgive me if I feel a little depressed at the moment. There are a lot of contributory factors — among…
Long life
Forgive me if I feel a little depressed at the moment. There are a lot of contributory factors — among…
Low life
The younger grandson, Klynton, four, has got in the habit recently of thrusting his hands in my trouser pockets and…
