Life
Wild life
Laikipia In one of Kenya farmer Karen Blixen’s short stories, a character says: ‘I know of a cure for everything:…
2497: Scramble
Six unclued lights (three of two words) are of a kind, associated with the 16’s 11s, and overseen by 28.…
Armenian champions
In the 21st century, which country has won more international chess Olympiads than any other? Russia? USA? China? None of…
High life
Gstaad I was very sad to read of Rupert Hambro’s death. I didn’t know him well, but first met him…
to 2494: Back to front
Unclued lights are from the ‘Looking Glass’ poem Jabberwocky. First prize Alison Peck, Mathry, PembrokeshireRunners-up Patricia Gibbs, Barrow upon Soar,…
Heaven scent
In Competition No. 3189 you were invited to submit a poem about a favourite smell. This challenge certainly seemed to…
Bridge
One benefit of lockdown is that there is much more time for reading. My personal favourite bridge book is Play…
Aussie Life
If you asked a roomful of Poms to list Winston Churchill’s greatest achievements, few would put ‘introducing the minimum wage’…
Aussie Language
The expression ‘unconscious bias’ is back in the headlines. First came the good news that Oxford’s Somerville college had rescinded…
High life
Gstaad That’s all we needed in a great year: copyright has expired on The Great Gatsby. Some Fitzgerald wannabe has…
Cut the poor ref some slack
Rugby has enough problems — from baffling rule changes to concussion — without the referees muddying the pitch even more.…
Dear Mary
Q. Recently an old acquaintance, notorious for never penning a ‘thank you’ note, emailed me telling me he was being…
Outside the box
The Stein’s at Home steak menu box (£65) says ‘Love from Cornwall’: it is not for people who live in…
Similar to
‘Blame Kingsley Amis,’ said my husband, with the carelessness of one defying a man out of earshot. The blame, such…
Real life
‘We’re sorry your experience with us has not been a good one,’ said the press officer at Surrey Police. ‘You…
Bridge
This is a great time to be a young bridge player. When I took up the game in my twenties,…
Play from home
Is working from home the future of a productive society, or a fleeting aberration? Nobody knows yet, but a significant…
Puzzle no. 643
White to play. Garcia Ramos–Maurizzi, -Barcelona 2021. Black has just played Kg8-h7, to attack White’s queen by unpinning the knight…
to 2493: Opposites
‘I WANT TO BE ALONE’ (1A) and ‘COME UP AND SEE ME SOMETIME’ (49/27) were supposedly said by Greta GARBO…
2496: Depart Paddington
Clockwise round the grid from 3 run seven dramatis personae; unclued lights give anagrams of two more. The play’s title…
No place like home
In Competition No. 3188, a challenge designed to make us all feel better about the looming prospect of another enforced…
The conservative appeal of drug gangs
According to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, the easing of lock-down will be accompanied by a rise in crime…
The Battle for Britain
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Low Life
I was supine on the slab and a nurse was rigging me up via wires and tubes to machines and…
The turf
With the Cheltenham Festival close, the quest for serious punting money intensifies. I had one potential contributor identified at Kempton…
