Life
Low life
We were watching Top Gear. I was sitting on a wobbly fold-up chair at a rickety garden table in a…
Real life
You know you’re in bad shape when you need to make a list before you go to the GP. Admittedly,…
Long life
The government has done a puzzling U-turn over its plan to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes. It had seemed determined…
The Force is with us
Clive Cox, once a conditional jockey in Lambourn, fell at the first fence one year in the Grand National. ‘Mind…
Bridge
There was a particularly juicy deal during the recent European Open Mixed Teams in Ostend, which led to many pairs…
Ivanchuk the Terrible
Although he has never won the World Championship, Vassily Ivanchuk is the scourge of the world’s elite. In his day…
Puzzle No. 275
White to play. This position is from Ivanchuk-Kramnik, Moscow Blitz 2007. What is the most accurate way for White to…
Last word
In Competition 2806 you were invited to submit alternative endings for well-known novels or poems. A Farewell to Arms,…
2122: Theme and variations
The nine unclued lights (including two of two words) form three groups of three: two of the three groups each…
Solution to 2119: Filial request
The full quotation was ‘Mother, GIVE ME THE SUN’ (14/7) from Ghosts by HENRIK IBSEN (29/1D). Remaining unclued lights give…
A theatre critic at the school play
‘Another opening, another show,’ sang five-year-old Charlie on his way to school this morning — and then proceeded to belt…
A question of trust
Now that most taxi drivers use satnavs, should ‘the Knowledge’ be abolished? Shouldn’t we ditch the requirement that all London…
Dear Mary
Q. Regarding the writing of ‘no presents’ on an invitation (Dear Mary, 6 July), my own experience is that many…
A glass of wine with Dickens
Which is the greatest novel in the English language? Let us review the candidates: Clarissa, Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, The…
Dreamliner
‘Planes don’t run off batteries,’ declared my husband, his finger unerringly on the pulse of technology as ever. I had…
A glass of wine with Dickens
Which is the greatest novel in the English language? Let us review the candidates: Clarissa, Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch, The…
The Force is with us
Clive Cox, once a conditional jockey in Lambourn, fell at the first fence one year in the Grand National. ‘Mind…
A question of trust
Now that most taxi drivers use satnavs, should ‘the Knowledge’ be abolished? Shouldn’t we ditch the requirement that all London…
High life
I remember it well. It was August 1952, and I was dining with my parents on the Palm Beach casino’s…
Low life
Searching the web for information about the enigmatic Bilderberg group, I came across a website called Who Controls America? It’s…
Real life
This is the story of the amazing, disappearing car warranty. It is a cautionary tale that all second-hand car buyers…
Long life
The days may be long gone when a husband would pretend to commit adultery in a Brighton hotel so as…
Bridge
Tor Helness, the Norwegian-born superstar who now plays for Monaco, partnering his wife Gunn in the European Mixed Teams, had…
Gelfand’s hat trick
As previously reported, 45-year-old Boris Gelfand, the oldest player in the tournament, convincingly won the Tal Memorial in Moscow. This…
No. 274
White to play. This position is from Al-Sayed-Georgiev, Fidé World Rapid 2013. What is the most accurate way for White…
