Life
Bridge
Most of us have lost a year and a bit, but hopefully we will get back to normal (bridgewise) fairly…
Aussie Life
The voiceover says new ABC series Ms Represented is all about Australian women in politics but really it’s all about…
Aussie Language
When Kaylee McKeown won Olympic gold her comment on worldwide television became the headline. Her sister and mum were watching…
Puzzle No. 665
White to play. Adhiban–Delgado Ramirez, Sochi 2021. White has more than one good move, but Adhiban found a spectacular way…
The Fide World Cup
As I write this, the Fide World Cup is underway in Sochi, the Black Sea resort in Russia which hosted…
What a Games
Avery Brundage was known to his enemies as Avery Ice Age — and to quite a few of his friends…
2518: Make a run for it?
11 Across (three words) is a phrase suggested by the puzzle’s title explaining how to arrive at the other unclued…
A time to live, a time to diet
I hadn’t noticed how much weight I’d put on during lockdown until I went out for a business lunch a…
The Battle for Britain
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Dear Mary
Q. I’ve just completed a six-month paid internship for a hedge fund manager. I was mostly in his private office…
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…
Alpha to Zulu
In Competition No. 3210, you were invited to provide a poem or a piece of prose containing words from the…
Bridge
To be a killer bridge player, you need to be aggressive. Many of us are hampered by timidity, especially when…
Low life
Although fatigued to the point of catatonia, and sitting there like a 19th-century Fang funeral mask, I am glad to…
High life
Patmos A very long time ago I wrote in these here pages that spending a summer on the Riviera or…
The turf
At last proper racing is back. Through the long days of lockdown horses and jockeys have still given their all…
Real life
The woman pulled up in her flashy 4×4 which was meandering along the farm track in that way people have…
Wash-up
‘They asked me if I wanted to wash up before we even went in to dinner,’ my husband recalled with…
High on the hog
The Pig at Bridge Place is not a pig in possession of a country house, but I would be for…
Aussie Life
For obvious reasons, lockdowns have been much easier to deal with for Australians who live alone. Not for them the…
Aussie Language
Edward de Bono—the inventor of ‘lateral thinking’—died recently. I interviewed him a number of times on my radio show (he…
2517: Final line-up
The unclued lights appeared at the start under the shaded squares reading row by row from top to bottom (two…
The king of no castling
In the body of chess rules, castling is a clumsy protuberance. Once per game, you get to move king and…
Puzzle No. 664
White to play. Greco–NN, 1620. The centre is a dangerous place for the king. Which move does White play to…
Take seven
In Competition No. 3209, you were invited to provide Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of a Tory MP. Inspiration for this challenge…
