Life
Battle for Britain
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How user-friendly is your house?
Old Glaswegian joke: ‘Put your hat and coat on, lassie, I’m off to the pub.’ ‘That’s nice — are you…
Dear Mary
Q. A friend regularly hires a stall at a general neighbourhood market in order to sell surplus second-hand clothes and…
Cutting the capon
A county, a house, a dog — and a bottle. Somerset: men have delved and farmed and built here for…
Square meals
I never dare go with my husband to any restaurant that uses square plates or he will play up the…
Cutting the capon
A county, a house, a dog — and a bottle. Somerset: men have delved and farmed and built here for…
How user-friendly is your house?
Old Glaswegian joke: ‘Put your hat and coat on, lassie, I’m off to the pub.’ ‘That’s nice — are you…
High life
New York Here’s a question for you loyal readers: if a hubby asks his wife to cook him a hearty…
Low life
I was two days alone in the caravan and no signal or reception of any sort. It was like a…
Real life
In the end, I threw my mobile phone into a sack of Chudley’s dog biscuits. It was the only way…
Long life
London’s opera critics have been roundly condemned for suggesting that a female singer’s personal appearance could make her unsuitable for…
Confidence boost
Eight people became millionaires last Saturday, collecting £1,342,599 each when the Scoop6 bet, which had been rolled over for 12…
Bridge
It is always exciting when a strong new team’s tournament enters the calendar, and the inaugural Balaton Invitational, held outside…
Close run
Although world champion Magnus Carlsen clearly secured first place in the Gashimov Memorial tournament, he did not have things all…
No. 316
Black to play. This position is a variation from Mamedov-Motylev, Gashimov ‘B’ Group 2014. How does Black conclude his kingside…
Lines on the Beeb
In Competition No. 2849 you were invited to submit a poem in praise or dispraise of the BBC. The entry…
Blank crossword
Solvers must create the barred grid for themselves; the resulting grid is symmetrical whichever side is uppermost. When submitting an…
to 2161: Appellation contrôlée
The unclued lights begin with DOC (the Italian abbreviated equivalent of APPELLATION CONTRÔLÉE). First prize Dennis Cotterell, Carlisle Runners-up…
Gove killed neither mice nor mockingbirds
I suppose I should be grateful that the liberal intelligentsia doesn’t bother to check any of the facts if an…
Battle for Britain
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Team games
Ah teamwork! There’s no me in team, as David Brent used to observe sagely, but there are often plenty of…
Dear Mary
Q. Two acquaintances of mine have somehow inveigled their way into my dining circuit. They are men who, despite privilege…
Old Harry’s game
Harry’s Bar is a dull pale box. This is remarkable in Venice, which is a hospice for dying palaces, held…
Support
When I asked my husband why paramedical professions were given to remaking the language in strange ways, he replied in…
Old Harry’s game
Harry’s Bar is a dull pale box. This is remarkable in Venice, which is a hospice for dying palaces, held…
