Life
Real life
Some might say it was a typical over-reaction on my part to erect hidden cameras at the horses’ field. First…
Bridge
Have I mentioned that I played for England in the Camrose? And not for the first time either. Sadly this…
Women’s World Championship
Looking at the first 12 games of the 2018 Carlsen-Caruana World Championship, which all ended in draws, I saw a statistical…
no. 589
Black to move. Javakhishvili–Adams, Gibraltar 2020. Adams has a few plausible moves here, including Rf1, Rf3+ and Rxf7, but only…
Food glorious food
In Competition No. 3133 you were invited to provide a passage about food written in the style of a well-known…
2442: Don’t nod
Eight unclued lights are of a kind with the 3 of the 30. Elsewhere, ignore two accents. Across 1 …
to 2439: More nuts
The statement, ‘HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS (10/17) twenty-twenty’ was made by the FILM DIRECTOR (48/21) BILLY (4) Wilder (suggested by the…
The climate doomsayers always get it wrong
I was slightly surprised when Greta Thunberg announced at Davos that we had eight years left to save the planet.…
The Battle for Britain
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Can England rise to the Six Nations challenge?
Not everyone likes the Six Nations — a recent well-received book on the state of rugby union described it as…
Dear Mary
Q. An elderly cousin gave my husband and me a wedding present of two weeks in his villa in the…
A taste of Wild Honey
Wild Honey is a ludicrous name for this restaurant: there is nothing wild about it, and I do not think…
Step back
At this time of year in Colorado the crime of puffing is widespread. It is so cold that in the…
High life
Did any of you know that most of the 20th-century monsters — Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Ceausescu, Duvalier, and even the…
Low life
For the last four years of her long life, this upstairs room and this magnificent sea view belonged to Mrs…
Real life
‘Time to begin your adventure with Mr Benn!’ said the letter that came through my door, in a big loopy…
The turf
Racing’s New Year began well with the award of OBEs to both Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls, showing that they…
Bridge
Sad to say, the length of time you’ve been playing bridge is no indication of how good you are. Indeed,…
More than a game
Cars, computers and cadavers: taking them apart is normally reserved for experts and the pathologically curious. In his new book,…
no. 588
Rowson-Yermolinsky, World Open 2002. This position arose after a tactical skirmish. White has only one good way to meet the…
Bizarre books
In Competition No. 3132 you were invited to submit an extract from one of the following books: Noah Gets Naked:…
2441: To and fro
28 2, born in 36, is best known for 10 41 (four words). He also produced a 19, 11 (two…
to 2438: Shining Bright
The unclued lights can be linked with GOLDEN, at 30D, which had to be highlighted. The trio is GOLDEN EYE…
Why we still need Orwell
I’ve been reading a new biography of George Orwell that’s been published to coincide with the 70th anniversary of his…
The Battle for Britain
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