Life
The romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
Mind your language
‘Bare? Extra? What does it all mean?’ asked my husband, sounding like George Smiley in the middle of a particularly…
The romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
True gamblers
Not having the odd £100,000 to spare, I had never before joined the world’s richest owners and their bloodstock agents…
Smart cars
Someone in New York told me this story. I admit that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it.…
High life
New York He came from a wealthy background but was always in trouble. His parents were not particularly religious, but…
Low life
I’d booked a private one-to-one session with her for an hour on the afternoon of the day she flew in.…
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…
