Solution to 2516: Such childish vocabulary
The unclued lights are the nouns from the opening sentence of The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter. TAFFETA was…
Office politics
After seizing so much power during the pandemic, Boris Johnson’s government is having trouble working out where its remit now…
Portrait of the week
Home After the number of people ‘pinged’ (alerted by an NHS Covid-19 app) neared 700,000, the app was adjusted so…
Barometer
Happy valet Police Scotland dropped what they said was a randomly generated codeword — ‘Bunter’ — for the security operation…
Solution to 2515: Paragon
The name was Margaret, whose various versions are suggested by THE SPECTATOR (1: Mag), BARN OWL (10/36: Madge), LEAD HAMMER…
The mild West
An athlete seeking sanctuary in a foreign embassy after a state–sponsored attempt to spirit her home from the Olympics; a…
Letters
Here illegally Sir: Unfortunately, Charlotte Eagar misses the point (‘The alpha migrants’, 31 July). The Channel migrants may be ‘bright…
Letters
A note about manure Sir: I am afraid Matt Ridley shows a lack of understanding about agriculture in general and…
Solution to 2514: Welcome Back
Unclued lights were stories in The Return of Sherlock Holmes. (The Adventures of the: EMPTY (41) HOUSE (2), DANCING MEN…
Portrait of the week
Home The daily number of coronavirus cases detected by tests fell from 54,674 on 17 July to 23,511 by 27…
The new insularity
There is something bizarre about a sporting event designed to bring people and nations together but from which spectators have…
Barometer
Reinventing the wheels Skateboarding made its debut at the Olympics. Who invented the skateboard? — There are many reports of…
Portrait of the week
Home On the eve of the day that most coronavirus restrictions were to be lifted, the Prime Minister and Chancellor…
Letters
Out of Afghanistan Sir: Boyd Tonkin’s review of Anna Aslanyan’s Dancing on Ropes highlights the post-war abandonment of local Afghan…
Barometer
Waiting Games What did Japan, and the world, look like the last time Tokyo held the Olympics in 1964? —…
On the cards
Back when Boris Johnson was on a mission to stop identity cards being used in Britain, he made a very…
Portrait of the week
Home England expects everyone to wear masks in crowded places, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said in a televised address,…
Letters
Save the parish Sir: The Revd Marcus Walker eloquently describes the crisis that has taken hold in the Church of…
Solution to 2512: Impertinence
CHERRY, NETTLE, SMOKE, PLUM-PUDDING, BEES, EGG, SUNBEAM and WIND are the perimetric answers to riddles posed by NUTKIN in The…
Barometer
Space cadets Richard Branson joined a test flight on his Virgin Galactic craft to the edge of space, to promote…
The bigger picture
There are two certainties whenever England’s football team plays; one that is long-established and the other a recent phenomenon. Players…
Letters
Treading the boards Sir: As a teacher, I was sorry Lloyd Evans did not include school productions in his excellent…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said that if a review of coronavirus restrictions on 12 July allowed, then on…
Opening time
A charge repeatedly made against Boris Johnson over the past 16 months is that he has ‘ignored scientific advice’. But…
Barometer
Mask crusader Who first wore a medical face mask? — The beaked outfits worn by plague doctors aside, the first…
