Life
2137: Speculation
Each of two associated words is suggested by four unclued lights (one of two words). Elsewhere, ignore an accent. …
To 2134: Mere letters
The pairs of anagrams were of countries and their capitals: Dominica & Roseau (2 & 11); Latvia & Riga (20…
Waiting for Waitrose
Five years ago I joined forces with some local worthies to object to the opening of a strip joint on…
Dave
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The best of times, the worst of times
The comic book Asterix in Switzerland is full of joys, not least the many jokes about Swiss obsessions with tidiness…
Dear Mary
Q. I am no interior decorator, but we have a couple of rather subtle paint colours in the house that…
Heston’s brown Dinner
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, a brown cavern in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Knightsbridge, has won a second Michelin star. These…
Pull & Bear
‘This’ll make you laugh,’ said my husband, sounding like George V commenting on an Impressionist painting. ‘Someone in the Telegraph…
Heston’s brown Dinner
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, a brown cavern in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Knightsbridge, has won a second Michelin star. These…
The best of times, the worst of times
The comic book Asterix in Switzerland is full of joys, not least the many jokes about Swiss obsessions with tidiness…
High life
If, according to a Viennese wit, psychoanalysis is the disease that calls itself the cure, then Steve Cohen’s deal with…
Low life
I’d been trying to curb the habit — one day at a time — and then I felt a bit…
Real life
Speeding down the farm track from my little country retreat, I came across the gamekeeper in his Defender. I wound…
Long life
When I was a child, growing up in Hertfordshire just after the second world war, my parents employed a cook…
True gamblers
Not having the odd £100,000 to spare, I had never before joined the world’s richest owners and their bloodstock agents…
Bridge
It’s difficult for non-players to imagine the extent to which bridge hands can torment us. I’ve spent hours this week…
The 16th?
Magnus Carlsen is seeking to become the 16th world chess champion in a line that includes such giants as Bobby…
No. 289
Black to play. This is a variation from Svidler-Nepomniatchi, Novgorod 2013. Svidler avoided this position, despite the fact that White…
Postscript
In Competition 2820 you were invited to supply a postscript to any well-known novel. This challenge was suggested by…
2136: Howdunit
Six of the unclued entries (one of three words, three of two words and one hyphened; all in Chambers apart…
To 2133: FM
Initial letters of superfluous words in clues give titles of ALBUMS (29D) by FLEETWOOD MAC (39). 8A, 25, 33 and…
Family matters
The first sign that something was wrong with Ludo was when he complained of a tummy ache. This was after…
Dave
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Smart cars
Someone in New York told me this story. I admit that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it.…
Dear Mary
Q. One of my oldest and best friends, who has lived up north for years, begged me to let her…
