Life
Career moves
Sergey Karjakin won’t be playing much chess for a while. Last month, the Russian grandmaster’s Twittering jingoism in support of…
£120 steak that looks like a M&S meal deal: The Maine reviewed
Last week Chris Corbin and Jeremy King lost controlof the restaurant group they founded: Corbin & King, which made theWolseley,…
Dear Mary: How do I convince my brother to go to a fancy dress party?
Q. My brother’s social life has dried up since his divorce (which coincided with the pandemic). So when he received…
Would my godson survive an afternoon with me?
My friend Emily, who once got an owl stuck to her hand, was bringing her son for a day with…
What’s the right way to pronounce ‘gif’?
The man who invented gifs, Stephen Wilhite, has died, aged 74. Controversy survives him – over how to pronounce the…
The art of the witty riposte
One hundred or so years ago, a down-in-the-dumps Joseph Roth wrote to Stefan Zweig: ‘The barbarians have taken over.’ Later…
2547: Ascending order - solution
The unclued lights are phrases which include the numbers from 1 to 7, with 1 featured twice. First prize John…
Hell is an English train journey
Delayed, on Southern Rail Home From the Hill is a 1987 documentary by Molly Dineen about Hilary Hook, an elderly…
Aussie life
According to our National Archives, the aim of the Immigration Restriction Act, aka the White Australia Policy, was ‘to limit…
Language
A reader (Rosie) has drawn my attention to a new(ish) word: ‘coddiwomple’. Rosie wrote to say that she has been…
Elegy in a country churchyard
‘I love this old watering can,’ said my sister, sprinkling the miniature rose. ‘Though I do worry about soaking Mum.…
My lack of schadenfreude worries me
Something has been bothering me of late, and that is my total lack of schadenfreude. The malicious pleasure at someone’s…
The British shone at Cheltenham
For Barbara and Alick Richmond, Living Legend’s game 12-1 victory in Kempton’s 1m 2f Magnolia Stakes last Saturday was their…
Bridge | 02 April 2022
I don’t play rubber bridge nearly as much as I used to, but I still enjoy the occasional game at…
Should the young pay less tax than the old?
In evolutionary terms, it is obvious why we get more conservative with age. Two strong forces, acting in the same…
My £50-a-week chocolate habit
As I’ve got older my tastes have generally become less refined. During my youth I dutifully slogged through Kafka, Camus…
Dear Mary: How do I deal with my book club’s dietary requirements?
Q. I live in the Hampshire countryside, in a lovely apartment where I have the use of an old walled…
The Battle for Ukraine | 2 April 2022
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
2549: Obscurity
Doc writes: This is Columba’s last puzzle for The Spectator which we are pleased to publish now, three years after…
No. 696
White to play and mate in two. Philip Hamilton Williams, Birmingham News, 1897. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.ukby Monday…
2546: Picture book - solution
NICOLAS POUSSIN painted ET IN ARCADIA EGO and A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME. The latter inspired ANTHONY POWELL,…
War, wine and the brilliance of Beychevelle
If only toasts and good wishes were weapons of war. At every serious repast I have attended since the invasion…
Spectator competition winners: The polar bear who came to tea
In Competition No. 3242, you were asked to submit a short story that is a mash-up of cli-fi with a…
Varsity battle
The 140th edition of the Varsity Match took place last month at the Royal Automobile Club in London’s Pall Mall.…
When did brothers and sisters become ‘siblings’?
I never cared much for the word sibling, though I hardly knew why. The reason must be that it was…
