Life
Goodwood is Ascot without the vulgarity, Aintree without the spray tans
If I get to choose where to spend my last day on earth it will probably be at Glorious Goodwood.…
Two’s a crowd
The British Championship, which finished in Aberystwyth last week, has been shared by international master Jonathan Hawkins and the defending…
no. 326
White to play. This is from Perez Ponsa–Frick, Tromso Olympiad 2014. How did White blast through? Answers to me at…
Voter repellent
In Competition No. 2859 you were invited to submit an offputting party political broadcast by the Tories, Labour, the Lib…
2174: Difficulty
Five clues consist of cryptic indications of partial answers; in each case, the indicated part must be treated thematically to…
to 2171: 31 Across
The seven 2×2 squares each used the letters STAR in order, and depicted the seven major stars that make up…
What’s the point in being married if I can’t feel superior to my single friends?
I’m due to speak at an Intelligence Squared debate on Saturday and I’m worried that I might be on the…
Battle for Britain
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Why squash deserves a place in the Olympics
Thank god for the Commonwealth Games: at least they gave us a brief respite from football transfer stories. Instead of…
Dear Mary: Help me hunt down my priceless missing book
Q. A scholarly book of great importance to me appears to have gone missing from my library. It was heavily…
L’Escargot is Soho as Soho sees itself
L’Escargot, or the Snail, is a famous restaurant on Greek Street, Soho, opposite the old Establishment club; the oldest French…
Should you be prejudiced against ‘pre-’?
‘Pre-diabetes is an artificial category with virtually zero clinical relevance,’ said an American professor in the Times. A friend of…
Rebooting the Snail
L’Escargot, or the Snail, is a famous restaurant on Greek Street, Soho, opposite the old Establishment club; the oldest French…
Squash hits
Thank god for the Commonwealth Games: at least they gave us a brief respite from football transfer stories. Instead of…
It is glorious at Goodwood
If I get to choose where to spend my last day on earth it will probably be at Glorious Goodwood.…
Even Switzerland is turning lefty. Am I going to have to move to Wyoming?
Gstaad I am looking out of my window at the green landscape and forested mountains rising beyond, as peaceful a…
The indiscreet charm of Jim Davidson
Le tout Torquay was there, cramming into the Princess Theatre with a drink in each hand ten minutes after the…
The only woman who can make me lie
With a heavy heart, I have just conducted my biannual lying session. I hate that I have to do this.…
You can't spin yourself into authenticity – as Ed Miliband is finding out
For a politician to draw attention to his own deficiencies is a desperate attempt to curry favour with the electorate…
Bridge
The brilliant American bridge writer and former world champion Eddie Kantar once overheard two wives in his bridge class arguing…
Treasure Island
As I write, young Jonathan Hawkins has stormed into the lead in the British Championship in Aberystwyth with the tremendous…
no. 325
White to play. This position is from Rogers-Milos, Manila Olympiad 1992. White is a mass of material down but the…
Hidden talent
In Competition No. 2858 you were invited to imagine that a well-known figure from 20th-century history was a secret poet…
2173: Men of note
The unclued lights are of a specific kind. Across 11 Top flier backs help for sloth (6)…
to 2170: Hector’s summer nights
The unclued lights are the titles of the six movements of Nuits d’Eté (Summer Nights in translation) by Hector Berlioz:…
