Life
no. 564
White to play. This is from Giri-Mamedyarov, Croatia 2019. White is a piece down and needs a dramatic continuation. What…
After Milton
In Competition No. 3108 you were invited to submit a sonnet with the following end rhymes: son, mire, fire, won,…
2418: Sweet
Unclued lights are of a kind, including one of two words, all listed in Chambers or Oxford (the required spelling…
to 2415: The Limit
The word was ‘pale’, suggested by PEELIE-WALLY (1A) and the title, which, with changes to its FIRST VOWEL (7D/33), becomes…
If you want a pro-Boris pundit, please pick me!
The changing of the guard at 10 Downing Street always creates opportunities for the commentariat. I don’t just mean it…
The Battle for Britain
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Why women shouldn’t play Test cricket
The name Cameron Delport might not be immediately familiar, but his exploits last week could mean more for the future…
Dear Mary: I used to work with Boris Johnson. Why does no one believe how fun he was?
Q. It was 10 p.m. by the time the canapés appeared and by then it was already too late. The…
A hotel dressed like the Queen Mother: Siren at the Goring reviewed
The Goring is a tiny grand hotel near Victoria Station and the Queen’s garden wall. Victoria is not pleasant —…
From moustache to extremist – the journey of ‘bigot’
How might an oath lend its name in England to a religious extremist and in Spain to a moustache? That…
Let’s choose our politicians by random selection
Athens Standing right below the Acropolis, where pure democracy began because public officials were elected by lot, I try to…
Italy, in seven hours and five trains
The train standing at platform 1A had no air-conditioning and the heat was stupefying. Latecomers pressing into the carriage reacted…
Why won’t the police acknowledge that speeding coppers are a liability?
For a while, it seemed as if the only words my beloved would ever say again were ‘chicken Kievs’. Two…
One to watch: the 5lb claimer Theodore Ladd
Newmarket’s wisest trainer, Sir Mark Prescott, once noted: ‘The greyhound is propelled through the pain barrier by its desire to…
Bridge
I have always thought the term ‘bridge holiday’ was an oxymoron. When I travel with my team to various events,…
Tal story
Sixty years ago, the great Mikhail Tal won the Candidates tournament by a massive margin to qualify for a world…
no. 563
White to play. This position is from Tal-Rantanen, Tallinn 1979. This game features a typically brilliant Tal finish. Can you…
When two becomes one
In Competition No. 3107 you were invited to provide an extract that is a mash-up of two well-known works of…
2417: Six Nations
One of the unclued entries (two words) can be followed by each of the others (two of three words, one…
to 2414: Matchplay
Conrad HILTON (2), Michael WILDING (37), Mike TODD (24), Eddie FISHER (3), Richard BURTON (30), John WARNER (31) and Larry…
I’m starting a trade union for intellectuals
I have just returned from Minneapolis after attending the annual conference of the International Society for Intelligence Research. That’s ‘intelligence’…
The Battle for Britain
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Why extravagant things don’t have to feel expensive
‘Suppose you bought a case of claret a few years ago for £20 a bottle. It now sells at auction…
Dear Mary: How should one react when someone invites you to an expensive restaurant — then lets you pay the bill?
Q. Further to your advice about how to refuse invitations, I had a friend, who sadly died young, who disliked…
The tastes of summer: polo, Pimm’s and plenty of Champagne
England. On a glorious summer afternoon in the Sussex countryside, I had been invited to watch polo at Cowdray Park,…
