Life
Tech to plug in to while you’re self-isolating
For the past 12 years, Roger Alton and I have shared this half page like Box and Cox: he writes…
The Battle for Britain
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Q. Our son and his girlfriend have announced their engagement and we are delighted with his choice. Our problem is…
Songs to wash your hands by
In Competition No. 3141, you were invited to submit a song we cansing instead of ‘Happy Birthday’ during hand-washing. Congratulations…
Real life
‘Get me Heygates on the phone! I need that order of pony nuts now, damn it!’ It was like a…
Oxford has taught the no-platformers a lesson
Three weeks ago Amber Rudd travelled to Christ Church, Oxford, to speak to students about her experiences of being a…
Bridge
It was impossible to imagine, when I filed my column a fortnight ago, that I would be writing this one…
Puzzle no. 597
A puzzle used in the solving championship, composed by Vittorio de Barbieri in 1918. White must give mate in two…
Barley
‘Why can’t you write about something wholesome?’ asked my husband, in a flanking move. He was in a bad mood…
A tale of two takeaways
I love eating while watching bad films like Battleship, so I love takeaway food from local restaurants. I am not…
High life
Desperately boring times but very healthy ones. No parties, no girls, not too much boozing, lots of smoking and reading…
2450: Titled Men
The unclued lights consist of one author, two titles and four characters; ignore one accent. The titles (three words and…
The slow puzzle movement
I could list all manner of things I don’t try, because I know I won’t like them, like skydiving and…
Titanic shifts
It wasn’t a coincidence that the US government chose Ellis Island as an immigration station. The crucial word is ‘island’.…
A toast to Italy’s health
We live in a world where yesterday’s inconceivable becomes today’s commonplace, but even so. I never thought that the day…
The Green Book
I pictured the Green Book (which Rishi Sunak has been urged to tear up) as a matt card-bound thing like…
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Q. We recently welcomed an 18-year-old au pair into our young family, and I’m pleased that she has settled in…
Quarantine with our new puppy will send me barking
When the news leaked at the weekend that the government was considering telling those aged 70 and over to self-quarantine…
Low life
The three of us — me, Catriona and her daughter Skye — were having a wash and brush-up before going…
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puzzle no. 596
White to play. Shirov–Yuffa, Nutcracker Battle of the Generations, Moscow 2020. The rook on f7 is pinned, and 1 Rxf8+…
Candidates goes ahead
Coronavirus is causing chess events to fall like dominoes, with cancellations all over the world. But the Candidates tournament in…
Confessional
In Competition No. 3140 you were invited to submit a poem in the style of a famous poet in which…
2449: Stateless
Eight thematic words (one of two words), which solvers have to discover and whose two-letter abbreviations form the anagram I’M…
to 2446: Spring time
The omitted letters reveal SATURDAY THE TWENTY-NINTH OF FEBRUARY TWENTY TWENTY. First prize Lewis Osborne, Newton Mearns, Glasgow Runners-up G.H.…
