Life
Fashion statement
In Competition No. 2981 you were invited to submit a poem about a politician and an item of clothing. …
Dear Mary
Q. At a drinks party at Christie’s this evening my face was splattered with flecks of spit from the guest…
Trumped!
Trump Tower sits between Gucci and Tiffany on Fifth Avenue in New York City. It looks like infant Lego, the…
High life
Athens I can only ask sardonically: was it worth it? Executed after unspeakable torture without giving anything away — and…
Long life
I am very bad at remembering my dreams: I would have been a poor patient for Dr Freud. But I…
Long life
I am very bad at remembering my dreams: I would have been a poor patient for Dr Freud. But I…
Low life
Our friend Anthony was reportedly dying and a party of four drove over to the nursing home to say cheerio.…
Low life
Our friend Anthony was reportedly dying and a party of four drove over to the nursing home to say cheerio.…
Carillion
‘Look, darling, a spelling mistake,’ said my husband, looking out of the window, as he had been for minutes, like…
Real life
If the buyer asks me any more questions I am going to pull out. I have to put my foot…
Big trouble upstream
At a wedding a few years back a very gloomy looking guest, a well-known Geordie actor as it happens, arrived…
A myth that keeps growing and growing
I had lunch recently with an assistant head of a leading independent school and he told me about their ‘growth…
A myth that keeps growing and growing
I had lunch recently with an assistant head of a leading independent school and he told me about their ‘growth…
The turf
You had to feel for ITV’s new racing team on their opening day at Cheltenham. It was cold, wet and…
The turf
You had to feel for ITV’s new racing team on their opening day at Cheltenham. It was cold, wet and…
Bridge
The Friday night IMPs game at the Young Chelsea is still the best game around. Some of yesterday’s internationals may…
Making work for ourselves
In 1929 John Maynard Keynes predicted that by 2029 people in the developed nations could enjoy a perfectly civilised standard…
Wild life
We had my parents-in-law Gerry and Jean to stay with us on the farm over Christmas and being in a…
The Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Bridge
There’s a bit of a ruckus going on in the bridge world at the moment; a lot of people are…
Gone Giri
The London Classic is over with the final scores being as follows: Wesley So 6/9; Fabiano Caruana 5½; Viswanathan Anand,…
no. 439
Black to play. This position is from Topalov-Anand, London Classic 2016. How did Black conclude? Answers to me at The…
Festive features
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (99) and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (20) – whose DIRECTORS (37) were ERNST LUBITSCH (61)…
Comic effect
In Competition No. 2980 you were invited to submit an extract from a politician’s speech ghostwritten by a well-known comedian.…
Discovery
Two pairs of unclued lights are theme names. Remaining unclued lights aren’t in themselves thematic, but their unchecked letters complete…
