Life
Right-on rhymes
In Competition No. 2966 you were invited to filter popular nursery rhymes through the prism of political correctness. Some years…
Dear Mary
Q. How can I tactfully request that well-meaning old friends stop toasting my (new) husband’s hospitality? It seems ungrateful but,…
Winemaking with convictions
Any Australian who admits to not having convict ancestors loses caste. When granted a coat of arms, the smart ones…
High Life
Sicily Under the watchful eye of Mount Etna the storied past of the island lies parched and yellowish, but…
Long life
The publication of private emails by Colin Powell has spread panic in Washington. Now nobody feels safe. Some prominent people…
Long life
The publication of private emails by Colin Powell has spread panic in Washington. Now nobody feels safe. Some prominent people…
Low life
One side of the hostel overlooked Waterloo station’s 22 platforms. Trains departed and arrived at the rate of two or…
Low life
One side of the hostel overlooked Waterloo station’s 22 platforms. Trains departed and arrived at the rate of two or…
Niche
Jonathan Swift, in his satirical poem ‘An Epistle to a Lady’, says modestly: ‘If I can but fill my Nitch,/…
Real life
Out of the blue, I woke up one morning and my feet didn’t work. I opened my eyes, swung my…
What’s right about Momentum Kids
Forgive me if I don’t get too worked up about Momentum Kids. For those who haven’t been following Labour’s internal…
What’s right about Momentum Kids
Forgive me if I don’t get too worked up about Momentum Kids. For those who haven’t been following Labour’s internal…
The stupidest target in British transport
Two books to recommend to my fellow transportation nerds: Travel Fast or Smart? A Manifesto for an Intelligent Transport Policy…
Wild life
Laikipia For a rancher north of Mount Kenya, a man’s best legacy might be a good bloodline of Boran…
Bridge
I’ve been in a bridge bubble in Wroclaw for the past two weeks, playing in the World Bridge Games. I…
Not much to smile about
CBeebies Land is a small dystopia inside Alton Towers, a theme park where people sometimes get their legs chopped off…
Selfie
In Competition No. 2965, an enormously popular one, you were invited to write a poem about a verse form, written…
Real life
‘This is the last straw. Never again,’ I thought, as I sat in the carpark of a Little Waitrose eating…
Dear Mary
Q. At a recent party I was delighted to find my hosts had put me next to one of their…
High life
I’m jittery and fragile but free of plaster and in the dojo, slowly turning lean and muscular. Never listen to…
Chinese puzzle
As I write, the final results of the Baku Olympiad are still not in. England are fighting for a possible…
to 2275: Frame of reference
Corrections of misprints in clues give CHAMBERS DICTIONARY, defining the items in the perimeter. First prize David Heath, Euston, Newark…
Long life
It’s been a very patriotic weekend, ablaze with Union flags. In London there was the Last Night of the Proms…
Bridge
The 15th World Bridge Games (formerly known as the Olympiad) began on 3 September in Wroclaw, and is providing more…
no. 426
White to play. This position is a variation from Li Chao-Short, Baku Olympiad 2016. White has various ways to win…
