Life
Aussie life
Did the Prime Minister drag his heels on new firearms legislation because he feared it might impact his cabinet? Until…
Language
As Australia continues to suffer from the evil of antisemitism a phrase (or three phrases if you count the different…
2737: 19×24 inches
Seven unclued lights (two of two words) precede and four follow a word defined by the title and all are…
Spectator Competition: I’ll take Manhattan
Competition 3434 was prompted by the 400th anniversary of the retrospectively controversial purchase of Manhattan island by the Dutchman Peter…
A tale of two cities
The ‘Wimbledon of Chess’ is underway in the Netherlands. Meanwhile in Spain, there’s a gaming industry expo. Magnus Carlsen and…
Can superintelligent AI be regulated?
In the House of Lords on Monday there was a short discussion, prompted by a question from an ex-Labour minister,…
Dear Mary: How do we get more men to our singles’ events?
Q. Last year I decided to share a flat with an old, but not very close, friend from school. It…
How to drink like you’re at the Savoy – from your sofa
There are two great American bars in London. One is perfect to escape the winter chill, the other to embrace…
Hell is a dog café
The dog café had a pretty pink sign describing its many services and I stood outside it mesmerised as I…
My family is divided on the meaning of ‘genocide’
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna We were en route to the junk shop in search of a pair of robust tongs for…
The stealth philanthropy of buying a Range Rover
Even though Christmas is over, I’ve been thinking about the season just gone. There is a tradition of complaining about…
Kiwi life
How very odd that former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern should have led the stampede exiting this year’s now-aborted…
Language
In a column in the Daily Telegraph Andrew Bolt used the word ‘pretendian’. I conducted a careful search, and so…
The lost brilliance of football’s Pink ’Un newspapers
If you can remember Pink ’Un newspapers and the days when FA Cup shocks really were shocks, then God bless…
Dear Mary: How do I get guests to help with the washing up?
Q. My daughter is temporarily living abroad and we communicate daily on WhatsApp. She’s always desperate for any local news/gossip…
A restaurant so perfect I hesitated to review it
Sometimes you find it, H.G. Wells’s door in the wall, but to tapas: a restaurant so perfect you hesitate to…
Are you ‘marred’ or ‘mired’ in scandal?
My husband made a noise which he thinks is like a klaxon but sounds as if he is choking on…
2733: Balancing Act – solution
To CREATE an EQUATION from the PUZZLE NUMBER, INTRODUCE an EQUALS SIGN and RAISE a SINGLE DIGIT. By following this…
Spectator Competition: Dear John
For Competition 3443 you were invited to submit a dear John letter in the style of a well-known writer. The…
