Life
No. 698
White to play. A variation from Esipenko-Nakamura, Fide Grand Prix Berlin 2022. Which move would allow White to force a…
2548: Poem VII - solution
The poem is ‘Rondeau’ by Leigh Hunt. Its first three words as quoted in ODQ are ‘JENNY KISSED ME’ (diagonally…
2551: Madness
Unclued lights (including two of two words) suggest nine words (all in Chambers) starting with the same four-letter word that…
Dear Mary: How do you stop a cat from sneaking next door?
Q. A great friend is in a terrible state regarding a cat foisted on her by a close relation. She…
Is this Premier Inn all I’ll be remembered for?
It’s fairly commonplace for people to wonder what, if anything, they’ll be remembered for. I’m going to be 59 later…
Bring back Nancy
The bank was having Transgender Visibility Day when I popped in to deposit some cash.The stressed-looking customers, meanwhile, seemed mostly…
My sojourn in the Test Valley
After north Cornwall I came to the Test Valley, I think. That is what it says on the council vans…
Spectator competition winners: poems for St George in Bono-metrics
In Competition No. 3244, you were invited to submit a poem to mark St George’s Day that rivals in awfulness…
The age-old story of strongmen
The only good news, after the massacres in Ukraine, is that so many ugly behemoth super-yachts have been seized and…
The Battle for Britain | 16 April 2022
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The glorious return of the Grand National crowd
How wonderful after three years to have the crowds back to enjoy the glorious concoction of skill, bravery, razzmatazz and…
How to watch YouTube on your TV – and why you should
According to Pliny the Elder, Scipio Aemilianus was the first man to shave daily. The origin of the name Boeing…
Nakamura’s place
Wesley So won the final Fide Grand Prix, which was held in Berlin earlier this month. But it was Hikaru…
The Aesopian language of algospeak
To evade algorithms that hunt down forbidden words, users of platforms like TikTok employ cryptic synonyms. So deadbecomes unalive, and…
Bridge | 16 April 2022
I went cycling in the Pyrenees with my teenagers last week. Every time we stopped for a break, out came…
The wine of the Wild Geese
The Irish rarely understate their achievements. Yet there is one exception. Over the centuries, the links between Catholic Ireland and…
Aussie life
April is the cruellest month for anybody who despairs at the state of contemporary humour. Where are the Ealing comedies…
Language
The expression ‘to walk back’ has exploded over the news recently. We have been told by the news media that…
The most disadvantaged group in Britain? White working-class men
I’m not sure what to think about the BBC’s announcement that it wants a quarter of its staff to be…
The Battle for Britain | 9 April 2022
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Pep and Klopp, kings of England
It’s a game for the ages all right, City againstLiverpool on Sunday as the Premier League moves to its most…
No. 697
White to play. Duda-Anton Guijarro, Charity Cup, March 2022. Black’s last move, 21…Qe7-b4 was an unforced error. Which move did…
2550: Shorties
The unclued lights and eight clued without thematic definition are of a kind, expressly confirmed in a section of Chambers.…
Spectator competition: poems about Shackleton’s Endurance
In Competition No. 3243, you were invited to submit a poem about the recent discovery of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance.…
Modern capitalism has failed my son
A light was on in the caravan site office so I went over to try and buy a gas canister.…
