Life
Hidden talent
In Competition No. 2858 you were invited to imagine that a well-known figure from 20th-century history was a secret poet…
2173: Men of note
The unclued lights are of a specific kind. Across 11 Top flier backs help for sloth (6)…
to 2170: Hector’s summer nights
The unclued lights are the titles of the six movements of Nuits d’Eté (Summer Nights in translation) by Hector Berlioz:…
A noble tradition of benign neglect
I spent last weekend at Port Eliot in Cornwall. This is supposed to be a literary and music festival and…
Battle for Britain
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Holiday kit – should it stay or should it go?
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
Dear Mary
Q. At a drinks or a dinner party, when very attentive waiters are hovering, I tend to let them keep…
Bedside manners
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
Mrs
I don’t much care for being called Wordsworth. Oh, the name is rather distinguished, though it came from my husband,…
Bedside manners
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
Holiday kit – should it stay or should it go?
One inarguably good thing about electronic publishing is that it solves that old quandary about what books to pack for…
High life
One event I regretted missing on my last visit to London was a party at the Polish Club, which has…
Low life
‘Oscar!’ cried Miss Herd as I arrived. She was standing at the classroom door releasing her charges one by one…
Real life
As a rule, I tend not to frequent places where there is a sign on the door saying ‘no sharps’.…
Long life
If I haven’t mentioned my poultry for a while, it’s because the subject has been too depressing. I had been…
An eye for quality
Through a stormy July weekend our task was to prevent four feisty grandchildren from murdering or mutilating each other before…
Bridge
Richard Selway was one of the first friends I made in the bridge world. Long-standing ‘host’ at TGR’s, he was…
Witsch craft
The ever reliable Steve Giddins has just published a new book on that great strategist Aron Nimzowitsch. This is the…
no. 324
White to play. This is from Storey–Jarmany, -British Championship, Aberystwyth 2014. White’s position is overwhelming but what is the quickest…
Spinning Jenny
In Competition No. 2857 you were invited to take the first line of Leigh Hunt’s mini rondeau ‘Jenny Kissed me’,…
2172: Para
In June we lost a popular 40. Clockwise round the grid from 3 run the titles of two of his…
to 2169: Land
The grid represents Germany, with six bordering countries round the edge, and four cities in the interior, positioned roughly appropriately…
Following in my father’s neglectful footsteps
A few years ago, a family friend described my father as being a bit like Mrs Jellyby in Bleak House,…
Battle for Britain
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Being the best
This time last year, England’s cricketers were 2-0 up against Australia, two thirds of the way towards their third consecutive…
