Life
Farewell to Fergie
Writing a Turf column before the Cheltenham Festival, as the Spectator schedule requires, which you are reading only after the…
Farewell to Fergie
Writing a Turf column before the Cheltenham Festival, as the Spectator schedule requires, which you are reading only after the…
Bridge
The past couple of weeks have been the first since the New Year that we haven’t played a tournament of…
Athens today makes me long for an EU bigwig to strangle
Athens I am walking around downtown Athens watching as thousands of migrants field pitches from smugglers offering alternative routes…
The poetic power of Patrick Hamilton's pubs
Nice airport was more or less deserted. Two-and-a-half hours early for the easyJet flight to Gatwick, I had a leisurely…
My horse's race career hangs by a tendon
‘Racing is 99.9 per cent disappointment,’ said the trainer philosophically, as I sat in the yard sipping coffee, waiting for…
My tenant is being haunted. Possibly by my brother
I used to enjoy the ghost stories of M.R. James, but I’ve never actually seen a ghost or even believed…
Bridge
Unless you’re an expert, it often pays to keep quiet at the bridge table — something I really ought to…
Bunratty
The tournament at Bunratty is Ireland’s premier chess competition and has been for several years. This year’s event, to which…
No. 399
Black to play. This position is from Skulte-Pein, Bunratty 2016. Black’s queen is attacked. His next move didn’t force immediate…
Gray matter
In Competition No. 2938, to mark the tercentenary of Thomas Gray’s birth, you were invited to submit an ‘Elegy on…
2251: Animal track
In eight clues, cryptic indications omit reference to parts of answers; these parts must be highlighted, to reveal the title…
To 2248: In the stars
The starred words in the clues are EYE, RAIL, SAGE, SNAP, TRAP, HIDE, NUTS, GUN, EE. They combine with nine…
What happened when my son went to school as Goldilocks
Whenever I hear a leftie complain about being abused on Twitter, I think: ‘You should try being me.’ A case…
Battle for Britain
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Google's driverless car has finally crashed. Might humans be safer?
A first last week: a Google driverless car in autonomous mode was partly at fault in a collision, interestingly one…
Dear Mary: my niece hasn’t returned the small sum I lent her
Q. My niece, who came to stay with me in the country for the weekend, arrived without cash and asked…
A thirst for justice: the wit and wisdom of Oliver Wendell Holmes
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a great common lawyer, was an adornment to the American Supreme Court. His wisdom is still…
Save the innocent swastika!
There is a nice row of swastikas at head height in Burlington Gardens, behind the Royal Academy. They are carved…
Battle for Britain
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Bunratty
The tournament at Bunratty is Ireland’s premier chess competition and has been for several years. This year’s event, to which…
No. 399
Black to play. This position is from Skulte-Pein, Bunratty 2016. Black’s queen is attacked. His next move didn’t force immediate…
Gray matter
In Competition No. 2938, to mark the tercentenary of Thomas Gray’s birth, you were invited to submit an ‘Elegy on…
Your problems solved
Q. My niece, who came to stay with me in the country for the weekend, arrived without cash and asked…
A thirst for Justice
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a great common lawyer, was an adornment to the American Supreme Court. His wisdom is still…
