Life
The fight to defend academic freedom
About 18 months ago, I attended a debate at Policy Exchange, the think tank founded by Nick Boles, Francis Maude…
A taste of the continent
Is it safe to visit the continent? On the one hand, abroad is likely to be less crowded this August…
Dear Mary
Q. We invited two friends to supper in London. As they came in they said they should order their taxi…
Living with
T.S. Eliot adopted a method of criticism that I am not aware of any other writer using: he imagined what…
The Battle for Britain
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Believing the hype
People often tell me I have a strange way of looking at the world. Obviously, it doesn’t seem strange to…
High life
Island of Serifos Let’s get one thing straight: island life is not for me. Island life off a boat, jawohl,…
Real life
The whole of Surrey and south-west London seem to have gone abroad on holiday so I’ve got my sanity back.…
Low life
Provence-Alpes-Côte D’Azur Until January the foreign correspondent lived in a late-18th-century house with a vineyard, olive grove and vegetable garden…
The turf
It was to have been, if not a glorious return, at least an encouraging one. On the Stewards’ Cup day…
Bridge
Stuart Wheeler was a true original. I was lucky enough to be a friend (we met playing bridge), and will…
Crossword 2469: Breadth
Unclued lights are anagrams of Shakespearean characters. These lights are defined by surplus words in eight clues. Across 1 Recreational…
Puzzle No. 616
Black to play. Studer–Naiditsch, Biel, July 2020. White intends to meet 1…Bxb5 with 2 Bxe7 Qxe7 3 Qxb5, with an…
To 2466: Gender bender
The author was GEORGE SAND (19/26), whose original name was AMANTINE LUCILE AURORE DUPIN (25/40/5/16). The perimetric works are INDIANA,…
Short story
In Competition No. 3160 you were invited to supply a short story whose opening sentence is ‘I have no idea…
The view from on high
‘Cabin crew, ten minutes to landing!’ Are there any more exhilarating words? Soon, for a few precious minutes, one can…
Aussie Life
Statue deconstruction is becoming the Anglosphere’s most popular artistic genre. So why are our local avant-garde artists lagging behind? Sculpture…
High life
Athens This ancient city without tourists reminds me of the Athens I once knew and loved, but for the…
Low life
Provence-Alpes-Côte D’Azur A burning ball appears over the brow of the hill at seven o’clock every morning and then…
Real life
From my seat in the greasy spoon café I looked out on a typical English row of shops on a…
Wild life
London Simon, proprietor of the sex shop opposite our Covid-19 testing centre in Soho, insisted on popping a pack…
Bringing Sexy back
Sexy Fish is an Asian fusion barn in Berkeley Square, near the car dealerships and the nightingales, if they are…
Carlos the magnificent
We know about the endlessly jaw-dropping greatness of Ben Stokes (a peerage soon, surely), the furious power of a supercharged…
Dear Mary
Q. I am not expected to pay rent at the cottage which has been lent to me by a super-kind…
The Battle for Britain
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