Life
Growth
‘You’re easily pleased.’ said my husband when I told him how satisfying I found a chance discovery. It was about…
A thirsty business
‘Golden’ is often used to describe the hue of some wines in the glass. But there is another resemblance. Gold…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. I am at the stage of my life where I am often sending presents to newborn babies. These presents…
Switchback
White to play and mate in two. Composed by Bruce Leverett, Chess Life, 1968. What is White’s first move? Answers…
High life
New York That Kim Kardashian dame being fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for a ‘pump and dump’ scheme…
Real life
‘I’d like my money back please’ was what I was waiting to tell British Gas, if they ever stopped the…
The genius of bottomless brunch
I’m rather fond of the many service stations on the M4, since I am convinced they are all named after…
Switchback
Vishy Anand’s eyes lit up as he described a beautiful variation from his game with Shakriyar Mamedyarov, played at the…
The turf
For a Radio Four programme she was hosting Clare Balding once had the idea that it would be fun to…
Low life
Our neighbour Michael is a keen and knowledgable attender of vides-greniers, the equivalent of our car-boot sales. His focus is…
Bridge
Did you know that a ‘heartbreaker’ is a real term in bridge? It’s described in The Bridge Player’s Encyclopedia as…
Lines on lines
In Competition No. 3270, you were invited to submit a short story entitled ‘The Queue’. As well as inspiring this…
The Battle for Britain: Michael Heath
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2577: Light and dark
The unclued lights (three of two words, one of which has an apostrophe) are of two kinds. Across 6 Eat…
Aussie life
Recent reports of a WA man being killed by a kangaroo have been syndicated by foreign news agencies for much…
Language
The word ‘they’ has two legitimate uses and one illegitimate use. The first proper and legitimate use is as the…
High life
New York I am seriously thinking of visiting a shrink (just kidding) as I now have definite proof that I…
Bridge
The bridge world is experiencing an explosion of junior talent and enthusiasm. One of the very best is Sweden’s Sanna…
Real life
A cleverly worded email has arrived from British Gas to explain why, despite the Prime Minister’s announcement, my gas and…
Queen’s favourite
In Competition No. 3269, you were invited to write a poem about Her late Majesty’s favourite things. Alongside the more…
Is Russell Brand really so dangerous?
Once the dust has settled over the government’s mini-Budget, another big political battle looms: the Online Safety Bill. This is…
Pop
The Guardian kindly tells us that green is a colour whose time has come: ‘A blazer or a cotton shirt…
Solution to 2573
The preamble referred to ten symmetrically placed unclued entries which spell out CURRENT PUZZLE NUMBER HAS PRIME FACTORS: THIRTY-ONE, EIGHTY-THREE.…
English rugby needs rescuing
Make no mistake: the game of rugby, which many of us love so much, is in serious trouble: it will…
Girls compete
Judit Polgar, the strongest female player of all time, conducted an enchanting interview in the commentary room during the Chennai…
