Life

To 2183: Group theory

1 November 2014 9:00 am

Extra letters in clues plus 1A give ‘the separation of philosophers into sages and cranks’, an extract from a quotation…

I swam up to a beautiful girl on the beach, and my life changed

1 November 2014 9:00 am

I’m writing this from Portugal, where I’m staying with my old friend Sean Langan. His family has owned a farm…

Battle for Britain

1 November 2014 9:00 am

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Test cricket and the Archers are both in deep trouble

1 November 2014 9:00 am

Lions and weasels The Archers and Test cricket: words you rarely find in the same sentence and more’s the pity…

Dear Mary: Is there a tactful way to shorten the guest list for my 21st?

1 November 2014 9:00 am

Q. I am organising my 21st birthday party at our family house in Italy. It is a fantastic location, but…

Want to shake hands with your dinner? Beast is your kind of restaurant

1 November 2014 9:00 am

Beast is next to Debenhams on Oxford Street and it is not conventionally beast-like; rather it is monetised and bespoke…

Why you might not want corridors in your historical novel

1 November 2014 9:00 am

I read C.J. Sansom’s novel Dissolution on the train recently with pleasure. For an historical novel narrated in the 1530s,…

Dining with death

30 October 2014 3:00 pm

Beast is next to Debenhams on Oxford Street and it is not conventionally beast-like; rather it is monetised and bespoke…

Is Test cricket heading for its last innings?

30 October 2014 3:00 pm

Lions and weasels The Archers and Test cricket: words you rarely find in the same sentence and more’s the pity…

Second best

30 October 2014 3:00 pm

The novelist Anita Brookner once declared that in real life hares always beat tortoises: ‘Every time. Look around you. And…

My fury at Fury, a film only a vampire could love

25 October 2014 9:00 am

I have always believed that the mission of most movies made after the Fred & Ginger era has been to…

Hello trees, hello sky, hello armoured riot police

25 October 2014 9:00 am

What a beautiful day, I thought, as I nodded to the porter in the bowler hat and stepped out of…

Oh no. Where is my iPhone taking me?

25 October 2014 9:00 am

After four hours of driving, we should have been in the middle of Dartmoor. And yet we were not. We…

If you don't like this stupid survey, there'll be a contradictory one along in a minute

25 October 2014 9:00 am

Perhaps it is because newspapers are going through such hard times that they fill their pages with items that cost…

What happened when I tried to buy back my father's farm

25 October 2014 9:00 am

 Kenya I perused the brochure produced by Tanzania’s state corporation for livestock ranching, aimed at attracting foreign investors. Under ‘beef…

Bridge

25 October 2014 9:00 am

Forget the 5-2 diet. To lose weight the easy way, why not take up competitive bridge? I’ve just come back…

Baku beyond

25 October 2014 9:00 am

The irrepressible Fabiano Caruana has added to his laurels by sharing first prize in the Baku Grand Prix, which finished…

No. 337

25 October 2014 9:00 am

White to play. This position is from Gelfand-Andreikin, Baku 2014. What is White’s best move? Answers to me at The…

Autumn villanelle

25 October 2014 9:00 am

In Competition No. 2870 you were invited to submit an autumn villanelle. Stephen Fry likes villanelles. The form inspired him…

2185: Over the sea — and bridge

25 October 2014 9:00 am

Two unclued lights describe the location of the others, individually or as a pair. One of these unclued lights does…

To 2182: Tops

25 October 2014 9:00 am

The unclued lights are ROMAN CROWNS. First prize Philip Hawkins, Wirksworth, Matlock, Derbyshire Runners-up G.H.Willetts, London SW19; Chris Edwards, Pudsey,…

Russell Brand and Nigel Farage remind me of myself five years ago

25 October 2014 9:00 am

I’m often asked by other free school proposers what lessons I’ve learnt over the past five years. Any pearls of…

Battle for Britain

25 October 2014 9:00 am

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The best navigation idea I’ve seen since the Tube map

25 October 2014 9:00 am

I stopped using London buses when some coward put doors on them. Twenty years ago, you could board any bus…

Dear Mary: Learning to love a man who whistles through his nose

25 October 2014 9:00 am

Q. What can you do when disorganised friends say they would love to come to a concert with you but…