Life
Catriona’s first bullfight – but would it be her last?
Six Partido de Resina (formerly Pablo Romero) bulls for Rafaelillo, Thomas Dufau and Juan Leal. The first corrida of the…
The poorer I get, the more capitalist I become
‘What a fabulous tan, where did you get it? said one of my fellow lunch guests as we entered the…
My hot tips for the Flat season to come
In his days as a novice jockey in the West Country, Bob Davies, who was to ride more than 900…
Bridge
Martin Hoffman, who died last week, had an extraordinary life. Born in Prague in 1929, he was the only member…
Short shrift
On 10 May, Britain’s most famous grandmaster, Nigel Short, chose the pages of the Times to announce his surprise candidacy…
no. 507
White to play. This position is from Short-Muir, Gibraltar Masters 2004. How did Short bring his kingside attack to a…
A fine bromance
In Competition No. 3049 you were invited to submit a poem about a bromance. Pairings including Friedrich and Karl,…
2360: Diplomatic
One unclued light is the title (two words) of a work by a person whose name is formed by two…
to 2357: Half a Drum
Unclued lights were five fictional TOMs and their authors: JONES (14A) and FIELDING (8D), SAWYER (16A) and TWAIN (35A), BROWN (41A)…
The BBC makes Jeremy Thorpe’s downfall a very enjoyable scandal
As a conservative, I wasn’t sure what to make of the news that the BBC was adapting A Very English…
Battle for Britain
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London Bridge station: Netwór Krail’s £1 billion experiential artwork
In the shadow of the Shard, not far from Borough Market, is a £1 billion public artwork, an allegorical sculpture…
Dear Mary: As best man, can I seduce the groom’s sister?
Q. We often take friends to what my husband calls a ‘poncey’ pub which has won numerous awards and where…
It’s not so easy to turn wine into words
Words, words, words. Over a couple of sessions, we drank a selection of serious wines, starting with a Cantemerle ’05.…
Similar to (as opposed to like, as with, such as)
I’m often annoyed by like being misused in different ways. (In place of as, for example: ‘Like I expected, he was…
The other side of D-Day
Omaha Beach, Normandy I am standing in a German cement bunker having walked through a large gaping hole caused by…
Will LSD cure my Brexit obsession?
An 87-year-old friend, a former doctor, has been urging me for some while to have a look at the latest…
My name’s Melissa and my horse is a grassoholic
Laminitis is a lot like alcoholism. Once you cross the line you can’t go back. ‘My name’s Gracie and I’m…
Bridge
I’ve always suspected that pessimists make better card players than optimists — and I recently came across the proof. A…
Musical chairs
Chess, the musical by Sir Tim Rice and the male half of ABBA, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, runs at…
no. 506
White to play. This position is a variation from Carlsen-Wojtaszek, Vugar Gashimov Memorial, Shamkir 2018. How can White power through?…
New word order
In Competition No. 3048 you were invited to take an existing word and alter it by a) adding a letter,…
2359: Down
The unclued lights (two of two words) can be all be preceded by the same word which solvers have to…
to 2356: Beetle
The unclued lights are compositions by Vaughan Williams; 17, 19/8, 21/23, 27/11, 36/4, 43/28 with the title of the puzzle…
The left’s ‘gammon’ slur just shows conservatives are winning
I was disappointed by the reaction of my fellow conservatives to gammon-gate. For those who haven’t been following this mini-scandal,…
