Life
Gizza job
In Competition No. 2897 you were asked for a job application by a well-known writer, living or dead. Inspiration for…
Your problems solved
Q. I have a friend who can be shy and inhibited. Recently, he was invited to stay on a Caribbean…
Goulash and whiplash
Ed is a plank. He was always a plank — and now he is in Ibiza being a plank. Plankety–plankety-plank:…
High life
OK. Magnanimity in victory is a sine qua non among civilised men and women, so let me not be the…
Long life
On election day I was in Puglia in the ‘heel’ of Italy, where interest in British politics could hardly be…
Long life
On election day I was in Puglia in the ‘heel’ of Italy, where interest in British politics could hardly be…
Low life
I’ve been on two cruises before: one was fun, the other misery. The misery one was a late August cruise…
Low life
I’ve been on two cruises before: one was fun, the other misery. The misery one was a late August cruise…
Progressive
I was interested by the widespread annoyance at the use of progressive by the lefty parties before the election. Irritation…
Real life
The ‘I’m Voting For Chuka’ posters in my rich neighbours’ front windows pushed me over the edge. There is nothing…
A few tips for Straussie
If you watched England’s three-day Test defeat by the West Indies in Barbados the other day to the bitter end…
Why I still have a deep attachment to the BBC
After I failed my O-levels and decided to leave school, my father suggested I go to Israel to work on…
Why I still have a deep attachment to the BBC
After I failed my O-levels and decided to leave school, my father suggested I go to Israel to work on…
Ones to watch
Back on political duty with CNN in election week, I came across a dead rat in Downing Street. It had…
High life
If any of you sees Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, walking around with a begging bowl in his…
Low life
The old fishing town faced the sea psychically as well as architecturally. Dressed as pirates, my grandson and I walked…
Real life
In the seemingly endless search for somewhere nice to live in modern Britain, where parking is not subject to martial…
Long life
It’s more than four months now since my 75th birthday, but I’m still waiting for a ‘cold call’ from the…
Bridge
I couldn’t help snorting when I came across an article in the Guardian last week (about the ongoing legal battle…
Brain games
This week I continue with my analysis of Nigel Short’s recent animadversions upon the differences between the male and female…
No. 361
White to play. This is from Polgar-Short, -Buenos Aires 2000. Here we return to the theme of Judit Polgar’s massive…
Iffy
In Competition No. 2896 you were invited to take Kipling’s ‘If’ and recast it on behalf of a politician on…
2210: Game theory
Four unclued lights can be arranged to form an eight-word excerpt from a quotation (in ODQ). One of these lights…
To 2207: An unusual angle
PERCH (13A), SCAR (21A and 10D), SHAD (40A), EEL (5D) AND CARP (19D) were ignored in wordplay in their clues.…
Is satire a dying art?
I appeared on Radio 4 a couple of weeks ago to discuss the age-old question of whether political satire is…
