Life
Low life
A light was on in the caravan site office so I went over to try and buy a gas canister.…
Career moves
Sergey Karjakin won’t be playing much chess for a while. Last month, the Russian grandmaster’s Twittering jingoism in support of…
Maine offender
Last week Chris Corbin and Jeremy King lost controlof the restaurant group they founded: Corbin & King, which made theWolseley,…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. My brother’s social life has dried up since his divorce (which coincided with the pandemic). So when he received…
Real life
My friend Emily, who once got an owl stuck to her hand, was bringing her son for a day with…
Gif
The man who invented gifs, Stephen Wilhite, has died, aged 74. Controversy survives him – over how to pronounce the…
High life
One hundred or so years ago, a down-in-the-dumps Joseph Roth wrote to Stefan Zweig: ‘The barbarians have taken over.’ Later…
Solution to 2547: Ascending order
The unclued lights are phrases which include the numbers from 1 to 7, with 1 featured twice. First prize John…
Wild life
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…
Low life
‘I love this old watering can,’ said my sister, sprinkling the miniature rose. ‘Though I do worry about soaking Mum.…
High life
Something has been bothering me of late, and that is my total lack of schadenfreude. The malicious pleasure at someone’s…
The turf
For Barbara and Alick Richmond, Living Legend’s game 12-1 victory in Kempton’s 1m 2f Magnolia Stakes last Saturday was their…
Bridge
I don’t play rubber bridge nearly as much as I used to, but I still enjoy the occasional game at…
The price of youth
In evolutionary terms, it is obvious why we get more conservative with age. Two strong forces, acting in the same…
Sweet dreams are made of this
As I’ve got older my tastes have generally become less refined. During my youth I dutifully slogged through Kafka, Camus…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. I live in the Hampshire countryside, in a lovely apartment where I have the use of an old walled…
The Battle for Ukraine: Michael Heath
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2549: Obscurity
Doc writes: This is Columba’s last puzzle for The Spectator which we are pleased to publish now, three years after…
Puzzle 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…
Solution to 2546: Picture book
NICOLAS POUSSIN painted ET IN ARCADIA EGO and A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME. The latter inspired ANTHONY POWELL,…
A voyage of discovery
If only toasts and good wishes were weapons of war. At every serious repast I have attended since the invasion…
Cli-Fi plus
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.…
