Life
How your brain buys a sofa
Almost every popular commercial product owes its success to two different qualities. First, it does the job it is ostensibly…
Wild life
Nairobi The gangsters hadn’t heard of Brexit. ‘What is this “Breaks it”?’ they asked my friend hours after kidnapping…
Bridge
Sometimes Janet teases me that this should be called the David Gold Column, as I mention his name so frequently.…
High life
New York It was the best of times — downtown — and the worst of times — uptown. Let’s start…
Low life
On Sunday we were invited for lunch at Chez Bruno, an unbelievably posh restaurant in the south of France. At…
Real life
Hello, Cydney spaniel here. She’s lying in a darkened room so I’m to tell you what happened. To cut a…
Twelve to follow
It has been a little like scraping from the plate as slowly as possible the last traces of Mrs Oakley’s…
Bridge
It’s the beginning of May and I have a feeling I am about to write the same opening sentence as…
Magna cum laude
World champion Magnus Carlsen has taken first prize in the Norway tournament at Stavanger which finished last month. Carlsen had…
No. 408
White to play. This position is a variation from So-Kasparov, St Louis 2016. What is White’s quickest kill? Answers to…
Olden but golden
In Competition No. 2947 you were asked to submit a poem in praise of old age. Old age gets a…
2260: B & B
One clue lacks a definition part; its answer is a film title. One unclued light (three words) is the title…
2257: A spree
SHAKESPEARE — indicating the action required to create 9, 11, 32, 18 plus 24, and the puzzle’s title — is the name…
These heartless Europhile snobs
One of the interesting features of the Brexit debate is that it has laid bare a schism in British society…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
The Foxes have little to teach us
A few years ago a motivational speaker brought out a smart little book called Legacy: What The All Blacks Can…
Dear Mary
How do you persuade your pleasant dinner guests to go home when they will stay into the early hours if…
Soho in Somerset
It is summer and the listless metropolitan thinks of grass. It cannot afford to stay at Durslade Farmhouse, Somerset, a…
Sadiq Khan’s virtues
The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he wanted ‘the most transparent, honest and accessible administration London has ever…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Magna cum laude
World champion Magnus Carlsen has taken first prize in the Norway tournament at Stavanger which finished last month. Carlsen had…
No. 408
White to play. This position is a variation from So-Kasparov, St Louis 2016. What is White’s quickest kill? Answers to…
Olden but golden
In Competition No. 2947 you were asked to submit a poem in praise of old age. Old age gets a…
Dear Mary
How do you persuade your pleasant dinner guests to go home when they will stay into the early hours if…
Soho in Somerset
It is summer and the listless metropolitan thinks of grass. It cannot afford to stay at Durslade Farmhouse, Somerset, a…
