Life
India’s rising stars
The former world champion Vishy Anand has described the current crop of young Indian talents as a golden generation. At…
Puzzle no. 770
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by C.G.S. Narayanan, K. Seetharaman, 2017. Answers should be emailed to…
Spectator competition winners: why you should never open a novel with the weather
In Competition No. 3317 you were invited to provide an opening to a novel that bears out Elmore Leonard’s tip…
2623: Half-day closing?
29 29-36’s 14 13 31 25 1D 2 24, in which 1 Down and 24 are each non-words that concatenate…
Solution to: 2620: The right name?
8A/31D, 23A/19D and 36D/7D are eponymous 29D/12A characters. 7D originally suggested D’Urberville, which needed to be changed to DURBEYFIELD, making…
Aussie life
Seven Days in May, a novel written in 1962 and turned into a film in 1964, concerns a planned coup…
Language
I need to loudly lament (once again) the deceptive misuse of the word ‘mistake’ by people who have a black…
A pastiche pub
Poundbury is the King’s idealised town in Dorchester, built on his land to his specifications: the town that sprung out…
The man who won’t go away
‘What are you still doing here?’ joked Daniil Medvedev to Novak Djokovic after their US Open tennis final – a…
Aubergine parmigiana
In the middle of an unpredictable Indian summer, here is a recipe from sultry southern Italy which is suitable for…
The myth of male privilege
A few weeks ago I had a crack at coming up with my own sociological ‘law’ and my first effort…
Real life
‘Ukraine Family – Welcome You,’ said the ungrammatical sign at the entrance to the car park of our favourite West…
High life
Gstaad This is the best news since the Bush-Blair duo saved us from the nuclear holocaust Saddam was about to…
Aussie life
Presumably, you don’t get to become head of football’s governing body in a football-mad country like Spain without putting in…
Language
Here’s a brand new Australian political expression I’ve just coined: ‘cane toad politics’. I expect it to take its place…
