Life
The psychology of either/or
It is a trick which often works on children. Do not tell them to eat vegetables; instead ask whether they…
Wild life
England We dropped off our daughter Eve at her new school in the Midlands and started the long journey…
High life
Next time you read about an auctioneer’s gavel coming down on a $150 million painting bought by some flunkey representing…
Low life
I’m round at Amy and Bill’s for Sunday afternoon tea. Amy and Bill are my in-laws, kind of. When I…
Real life
After a rush of blood to the head, I decided it might be a good idea to ask some awkward…
Long life
Sometimes I say I’m Scottish, a claim often greeted with understandable derision. I was born in England, in Hertfordshire, went…
Money, money, money
While Mrs Oakley was patrolling the aisles in Waitrose one day recently, I slipped off into my local betting shop.…
Bridge
Many top bridge players are also keen poker fans, and when a poker star infiltrates their backyard there is a…
Double trouble
The importance of pawn structure cannot be overestimated when planning chess strategy. Although Philidor (18th century) understood the importance of…
No. 332
White to play. This position is from Nimzowitsch-Rubinstein, Berlin 1928. White’s passed pawn and active pieces guarantee a winning advantage.…
Selfie
In Competition No. 2865 you were invited to compose a poet’s elegy for him or herself. This challenge took you…
2180: Superfluous
Each of nine clues contains a superfluous word. Initial letters of these words spell a word which can be read…
To 2177: Amaze
Songs by KATE BUSH include WUTHERING HEIGHTS, HAMMER HORROR, HOUNDS OF LOVE and CLOUDBUSTING in the perimeter, and (defined by…
Caught in Alex Salmond’s tractor beam
It was just after the Tory party conference last year that I met Alex Salmond. Not alone, obviously, but as…
Battle for Britain
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They don’t make footballers like Roy Race any more
It has become a weary cliché to say that a book’s publication is eagerly awaited, but when an event is…
Dear Mary
Q. I graduated this year (I got a first) and have written more than 70 letters to potential employers. Those…
My little plutocrat
Rextail is a restaurant for billionaire children, such as Richie Rich. Its owner, Arcady Novikov, has already opened a restaurant…
Never
He won’t be remembered as Lord Bannside, but Ian Paisley will be remembered for shouting: ‘Never, never, never, never.’ The…
My little plutocrat
Rextail is a restaurant for billionaire children, such as Richie Rich. Its owner, Arcady Novikov, has already opened a restaurant…
They don’t make footballers like Roy Race any more
It has become a weary cliché to say that a book’s publication is eagerly awaited, but when an event is…
Money, money, money
While Mrs Oakley was patrolling the aisles in Waitrose one day recently, I slipped off into my local betting shop.…
High life
Ibiza This island is the Spanish equivalent of the Greek sex rock of Mykonos, except its waters are murkier, its…
Low life
Music of the Forest on Radio 4 last week was a profile of the anthropologist Colin Turnbull, 1924–1994, who achieved…
Real life
‘Let me get this straight,’ I said, looking my Slovakian friend in the eye. ‘You are going to go back…
