Life
Christmas Covid Outlaw
I was sitting with one other person in a sterilised public hospital reception area waiting to be tested for COVID…
Woke for kids
Now that hate-speech has been recognised as an act of physical violence, using non-problematic language has never been more important.…
We may be locked down but Gstaad’s nightlife is going strong
Gstaad Chekhovian boredom ruled supreme, but the loss of my luggage brought instant relief. Anger beats boredom by a mile,…
Bridge | 9 January 2021
It’s so much easier to play bridge well when luck is on your side. You’ve just doubled your opponents and…
Footballers have made a pig’s ear of Covid rules
It’s the Portuguese piglet you feel really sorry for. The diminutive (ready cooked) porker — a festive delicacy all over…
2488: Clueless
The unclued lights (one of two words), when paired, have something in common. Across 5 Fly eggs not at all…
Sub-ready-meals of salt and tears: Simply Cook reviewed
Welcome to the sunlit uplands which, for me, contain small plastic tubs of stock, which is just the opening to…
Dear Mary: Should I rename my grandmother’s dog to avoid offense?
Your problems solved
Why oranges don’t have ‘segments’
In the aisle of Tesco I stood like one thunderstruck. It was not the print of a man’s naked foot…
A dog is not just for lockdown
The Dogs Trust charity received 114 calls on 27 and 28 December from people wanting to offload their puppies. No,…
No. 635
Mastrovasilis–Marechal, Cappelle la Grande 2011. Black is a whole rook up, so his last move 34… Nd5-e7, angling for an…
The Battle for Britain | 9 January 2021
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2486: Ghost Companions - solution
Unclued lights are nicknames of works by Beethoven, born 250 years ago. The title referred to the Ghost piano trio,…
Belloc-esque cautionary tales for our times
In Competition No. 3180 you were invited to submit a Belloc-esque cautionary tale featuring a high-profile public figure. Cautionary Tales…
Antiques Roadshow
It is one of life’s comforts to see a forgotten trinket being dusted off and appreciated afresh. So in chess,…
In praise of nuns
Although I was ten minutes early, Vernon was there ahead of me, framed in the ancient chapel doorway, chatting up…
What parking disputes have taught me about Brexit
Our battle with the EU has given me an insight into the parking disputes outside my house. Or is it…
The poetry of Bryony Frost
Hearing that the Queen has both a real and an official birthday, a small boy asked the obvious question: ‘Does…
Language notes
Word-of-the-year of the Year It’s that time of year once again – the season when dictionaries announce their choice for…
The Battle for Britain | 18 December 2020
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It’s been a tough year for socialites
New York Here we go again, the annual holiest of holies is upon us, although to this oldie last Christmas…
Dear Mary, from Joanna Lumley: what should I do with my excess Christmas cards?
From Joanna Lumley Q. We receive a huge number of Christmas cards every year. When I take them all down…
Is it time to reopen technology’s cold cases?
One of the staples of crime drama is the ‘cold-case squad’. This allows programme-makers to add period detail to the…
The word of the year (whether we like it or not)
In 2015 smombie became the Youth Word of the Year in Germany. In January 2016 a survey found that 92…
The beauty and tragedy of Lebanon
I was thinking about tragedy. Could one use the term ‘chronically tragic’? My first instinct is against. Tragedy is the…
