Life
Real life
‘Hello, good morning, my name is Gavin Moneypenny, and I’m your customer service representative for today and I’m pleased to…
Long life
Given that more than 9,000 innocent Italian civilians, many of them women and children, died in Nazi massacres during the…
Wild life
Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail…
Bridge
The season got off to a very bad start for my team — and continues in much the same vein.…
Maecenas
Andrew Paulson, an American who lives in London, has been responsible for a remarkable chess revolution over the past year.…
No. 288
White to play. This position is from Goganov-Motylev, Russian Championship, Novgorod 2013. Black has just captured on d5 with his…
Buttoned up or open neck?
In Competition 2819 you were invited to write a poem either in free verse mocking rhymed, metrical verse or in…
2135: Strange
The unclued lights are of a kind. Across 1 Remains close to the co-founder of the Townswomen’s…
2132: Ricochet
The unclued lights, when paired 12/20, 16/33, 25/29, 31/6, 42/2, are RICOCHET or reduplicated words. First prize Mrs Rhiannon…
Am I in denial about turning 50?
By the time you read this I’ll be 50. A couple of years ago, when President Obama passed this milestone,…
Dave
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Lighting up with King Jack
The more you see of Jack Wilshere, the more admirable he becomes. He seems to have taken wholeheartedly to fatherhood,…
Dear Mary
Q. I spent a week in a house party abroad, with an elderly and extremely polite friend of mine and…
Towards the end of Gordon
The Union Street Café is in a dismal, dingy part of London; dismal dingy Southwark. Southwark, in fact, is almost…
C-word, N-word
The BBC is to broadcast what is now referred to as the ‘C-word’ in a drama about Dylan Thomas. ‘It…
Towards the end of Gordon
The Union Street Café is in a dismal, dingy part of London; dismal dingy Southwark. Southwark, in fact, is almost…
Lighting up with King Jack
The more you see of Jack Wilshere, the more admirable he becomes. He seems to have taken wholeheartedly to fatherhood,…
Wild life
Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail…
High life
New York Libyans are among the most civilised people on earth. When a Russian hooker (I assume) killed a Libyan…
Low life
A surprisingly convivial atmosphere prevailed in the second-class carriage of the fast London-bound train when I stepped aboard at Bodmin.…
Real life
‘Excuse me. I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation and I have to tell you, as a Catholic, I’m offended.’ The…
Long life
The Italians are often thought of as being unpatriotic, and one can see why. They relentlessly denigrate their national institutions,…
Great expectations
At the degenerative stage of a dinner party recently I heard related with perfect timing the tale of the gent…
Bridge
The 2013 IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) Awards have just been published — and it’s no great surprise to see…
Time for change
Former world champion Garry Kasparov has announced that he will stand for president of Fidé, the World Chess Federation, next…
