Life
Aidan Hartley: How Muslim militants and Western jihadis wrecked enchanting Somalia
Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail…
Bridge
The season got off to a very bad start for my team — and continues in much the same vein.…
Maecenas
Andrew Paulson, an American who lives in London, has been responsible for a remarkable chess revolution over the past year.…
No. 288
White to play. This position is from Goganov-Motylev, Russian Championship, Novgorod 2013. Black has just captured on d5 with his…
Buttoned up or open neck?
In Competition 2819 you were invited to write a poem either in free verse mocking rhymed, metrical verse or in…
2135: Strange
The unclued lights are of a kind. Across 1 Remains close to the co-founder of the Townswomen’s…
2132: Ricochet
The unclued lights, when paired 12/20, 16/33, 25/29, 31/6, 42/2, are RICOCHET or reduplicated words. First prize Mrs Rhiannon…
Toby Young: Am I in denial about turning 50?
By the time you read this I’ll be 50. A couple of years ago, when President Obama passed this milestone,…
Dave
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Adnan Januzaj should not pull on the Three Lions
The more you see of Jack Wilshere, the more admirable he becomes. He seems to have taken wholeheartedly to fatherhood,…
Dear Mary: What do I do when the pizzas arrive at the opening of my art show?
Q. I spent a week in a house party abroad, with an elderly and extremely polite friend of mine and…
Gordon Ramsay's violently unsexy new restaurant shows he's near the end
The Union Street Café is in a dismal, dingy part of London; dismal dingy Southwark. Southwark, in fact, is almost…
Word of the Week: Does it matter who uses the N-word?
The BBC is to broadcast what is now referred to as the ‘C-word’ in a drama about Dylan Thomas. ‘It…
Towards the end of Gordon
The Union Street Café is in a dismal, dingy part of London; dismal dingy Southwark. Southwark, in fact, is almost…
Lighting up with King Jack
The more you see of Jack Wilshere, the more admirable he becomes. He seems to have taken wholeheartedly to fatherhood,…
Wild life
Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail…
Taki: My main gripe with Gaddafi is the quality of his cocaine
New York Libyans are among the most civilised people on earth. When a Russian hooker (I assume) killed a Libyan…
Jeremy Clarke: Heaven is afternoon tea with Suzi Quatro
A surprisingly convivial atmosphere prevailed in the second-class carriage of the fast London-bound train when I stepped aboard at Bodmin.…
Melissa Kite: my car crash of an evening discussing Catholicism
‘Excuse me. I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation and I have to tell you, as a Catholic, I’m offended.’ The…
Alexander Chancellor: I don’t like traffic jams or lager louts but that doesn’t mean I hate Britain
The Italians are often thought of as being unpatriotic, and one can see why. They relentlessly denigrate their national institutions,…
The turf: bad-mane day for Tropics
At the degenerative stage of a dinner party recently I heard related with perfect timing the tale of the gent…
Bridge
The 2013 IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) Awards have just been published — and it’s no great surprise to see…
Time for change
Former world champion Garry Kasparov has announced that he will stand for president of Fidé, the World Chess Federation, next…
No. 287
White to play. This is from Euwe-Alekhine, Zurich 1934. It looks as if Alekhine may have won Euwe’s knight due…
Literary merger
In Competition 2818 you were asked to merge two literary classics and provide a synopsis of the new title. You…
