Life
2456: So American
Unclued lights (five of two words) are of a kind, singly, three pairs and a trio. Across 11 Ban on…
Pasture
‘We can now see the sunlight and the pasture ahead of us,’ said Boris Johnson on our escape from a…
Magnus wins Magnus Carlsen Invitational
‘I haven’t felt this kind of tension in a long while. This was real!’ Those were Magnus Carlsen’s words, after…
Odd
‘Is this not the oddest news?’ Harriet Smith exclaimed to Emma Woodhouse, on the news that Jane Fairfax and Frank…
The Turf
Seven hundred pages of memoir is stretching it a bit even for an ex-inhabitant of No. 10 with David Cameron’s…
Getting your goat
In Competition No. 3146 you were invited to submit a poem about the goats of Llandudno, who recently ran amok…
Solution to 2452: Comme on dit
The paired unclued lights (1D/6, 14/25, 36/32 and 39/1A) are, AS THEY SAY when the title of the puzzle is…
2455: Shadow boxing
The unclued lights (two of two words and one hyphened), individually or as three pairs are of a kind. The…
Real life
Without making any efforts in that direction, I now know all about a certain telecom firm’s future business plans. My…
High life
Gstaad When indolence becomes intolerable, remembrances of things past become a lifesaver. Charles Moore’s SpectatorNotes also helps. His recent…
Puzzle no. 602
Nepomniachtchi (lachesisQ)–Andriasian (Zaven_ChessMood), Abu Dhabi Super Blitz, April 2020. White is in danger here. Which move did he play to…
Hovering amid the din
‘I am extraordinarily patient — provided I get my own way in the end’. That’s a disposition fit for a…
Cavalier approach
This April was indeed the cruellest month, at least for those of us banged up in cities. From the country…
Bridge
I’m aware that this column is in danger of turning into the Alex Hydes fanzine, but after writing about his…
Dear Mary
Q. I am being driven to distraction by a touchy relation who has responded to the lockdown by WhatsApping me…
Clapping for Caroline
One of the nice things about having a column in The Spectator is that I get a chance to reply…
Travelling lite
The brother of a friend in Durban was once given a generous donation by a wealthy aunt. ‘I hate to…
Low life
Once a week we break French emergency law and have a friend round for drinks on the terrace. The terrace…
The Battle for Britain
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Dear Mary
Q. Several of my friends and family members have moved on from dark thoughts concerning 9/11, the Kennedy assassination and…
High Life
As Cole Porter might have said, only second-rate people go on and on about their inner lives. Self-analysis, according to…
Low life
In 2001, aged 44, I was hired to write a weekly column for this august paper, and for the first…
Real life
The man was unloading cycles from the boot of his car just as I was about to take the turning…
The illusion of certainty
The newspapers are full of stories about how small groups of engineers from Formula 1 teams have been able to…
Solution to 2451: Cretinous
Unclued lights are anagrams of the names of countries (anagram of Cretinous): UNHOARDS (1A: anagram of Honduras), ATWAIN (5: Taiwan),…
