Life
Aussie Life
Every time a dog cocks its leg to urinate on the Federation Pavilion in Centennial Park, Sydney, a terminally ill…
Aussie Language
A report in the Australian said ‘anti-Semitic’ hate crimes are on the rise in America – and the FBI and…
How to lose
Millions of people would see losing to Anand as a privilege rather than a disgrace. So it is simply astonishing…
Let’s go round again
In Competition No. 3204, you were invited to supply a rondeau with a summery theme. The best-known English rondeau is…
The Battle for Britain
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Puzzle no. 659
White to play. Gukesh–Yip, Gelfand Challenge, June 2021. White has strong pressure on the f-file, but which move forces a…
High life
New York I hope this is my last week in the Bagel. I plan to fly first to Switzerland and…
The turf
There are many facets to Royal Ascot’s appeal. For some it is glamour, style and opulence. For some it is…
2512: Impertinence
Clockwise round the grid from 34 run the answers (6,6,5, 11,4,3,7,4) (one hyphened) to eight riddles followed by the riddler’s…
Critique
Six years ago I wrote here about critique, as a noun or verb, and things have gone from bad to…
Hogwarts and all
Harry Potter is a fictional orphan locked in a cupboard by his aunt and uncle, after which he discovers a…
Dear Mary
Q. We have old friends who live in the northern hinterlands and have a property in Provence where they normally…
A lot of bottle
The question is surely destined to become a pub quiz staple: ‘Who moved a bottle 18 inches across a table…
Sense and sensitivity
‘Whatever you do, don’t call them snowflakes,’ Caroline said the last time I spoke to Oxford students. ‘That’s not a…
Real life
Exciting news from my father’s cousin in Canada. ‘You asked about our grandfather, there is much to tell,’ he writes.…
Solution to 2509: Current description
The perimeter quote is from ‘Ode to the West Wind’. The remaining unclued lights were the east wind (24A), south…
Bridge
On the whole, I’ve enjoyed playing bridge from the comfort of home during lockdown. One regrettable outcome, however, is that…
Aussie Life
One of the advantages of being an internet sensation is that it greatly reduces the likelihood of you being eaten.…
Aussie Language
The settlement of Christian Porter’s defamation action against the ABC produced the predictable sneering responses from the activists at the…
The Battle for Britain
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A battery of joy
Where do you want to go? China or India? I have always found India infinitely more fascinating — for a…
to 2508: Grovels
The unclued lights (including the pair at 24/28) are CHEESES. First prize Rhidian Llewellyn, London SW14 Runners-up H. Sarson, Guernsey,…
We’re all in favour of lockdown, darling
I’ve just written an essay for the People’s Lockdown Inquiry, a new collaboration between Buckingham University, the Institute of Ideas…
2511: Changing places
The 12 unclued lights (one of two words) are somehow paired and one solution in each pair is of a…
French toast
It is hard to decide which is more depressing, the extension of the lockdown or the public support for this…
