Life
Solution to 2150: Content
‘To fill the hour — that is happiness’ (given by initial letters of superfluous words in clues, and 3 4A)…
Death brings out everyone’s inner Mary Whitehouse
Shortly after Bob Crow’s death was announced on Tuesday, Nigel Farage sent the following tweet: ‘Sad at the death of…
Battle for Britain
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The plan with three brains
A good human chess player with a good computer trounces the best human or computer playing alone
Dear Mary: Is there any way to wriggle out of a phone invitation?
Q. Is there a tactful way to keep one social offer on hold while waiting to see if you have…
The tragedy of Armenia (and its brandy)
It is impossible not to sympathise with Armenia. It has spent much of its history between the hammer and the…
How 'de-escalate' escalated
‘What we want to see,’ David Cameron said last week, ‘is a de-escalation.’ Or, as the Tanaiste of Ireland put…
The spirit of Armenia
It is impossible not to sympathise with Armenia. It has spent much of its history between the hammer and the…
Three minds are better than one
This month Daniel Kahneman turned 80. Long revered among experts in the decision sciences, his work reached much wider public…
What 12 Years a Slave gets wrong – and The Book Thief gets right
Damn, damn, damn! It has to be me, and all these years I’ve been thinking it was Hollywood. By the…
I’m hoping and praying for a continuation of potency
I’ve had a medical procedure that is ‘likely’ to leave me impotent. A nurse is coming around dishing out Tramadol,…
David Cameron is sending me begging letters
A letter arrives from David Cameron, asking me to vote by post in the European elections. Presumably he means vote…
Dear Bill de Blasio: there are better reasons to boycott the St Patrick's Day parade
The new mayor of New York, who despite his name (Bill de Blasio) claims Irish ancestry, is boycotting this month’s…
How Paul Bittar has kept British racing together
British racing is such a quirky minefield that some were surprised when in 2011 the authorities chose Paul Bittar, a…
Bridge
Now and then an event enters the annual bridge calendar and becomes an instant ‘must play’. TGRs Auction Pairs is…
Varsity match
On Saturday 8 March the 132nd Varsity match between the teams of Oxford and Cambridge will see Oxford seeking to…
No. 304
White to play. This position is from Robbins-Smith, Varsity Match 1972. The black king has been drawn out into the…
Reunion blues
In Competition 2837 you were invited to submit a poem on the horrors of a reunion dinner. In days gone…
2152: T20 – it’s just not cricket!
The unclued lights (and 4 Down + N) are of a kind and along with the suggestion given by the…
to 2149: Super!
When preceded by GREAT, each unclued light yields a phrase listed in Brewer 19th edition. First prize Mrs T.…
Sorry, campaining mums – it’s faith that makes faith schools work
An email popped into my inbox on Tuesday morning urging me to join a ‘fair admissions campaign’ that’s been launched…
Victor Dubuisson and the true spirit of sport
Just do it. The people who make trainers have been telling us to ‘Just do it’ for 25 years now.…
Battle for Britain
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Dear Mary: How can I check if my dentist uncle really meant to charge me?
Q. My uncle, who is a brilliant dentist, has looked after my teeth since I was little. He also sees…
So is Moro a Tory restaurant now?
Moro (‘moorish’ or ‘sexist’) is a Spanish restaurant on Exmouth Market, near the bones of the old Guardian and Observer…
