In search of Trussonomics
When Liz Truss entered the leadership race there was no such thing as ‘Trussonomics’. She began her campaign with no…
A complicated bond
When I think of Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire, I picture a pot boiling on a hob, the water level rising…
Crowd control
Public dissent, from riots to republicans objecting to homage to the Queen, is dealt with by the police, a force…
The ultimate gamble
This is an important and topical book. Mary Sarotte traces the difficult course of Russia’s relations with Europe and the…
Grand old man of British music
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s towering position in our national life is now beyond dispute – and can only grow, says Simon Heffer
An empire crumbles
Welcome to Mingheria, ‘pearl of the Levant’. On a spring day, as the 20th century dawns, you disembark at this…
National disasters
It is high time the Arts Council put ENO and ENB out of their misery, says Rupert Christiansen
Portrait of the week
Home Queen Elizabeth was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, beside her husband and father, after a funeral at…
Puzzle no. 721
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Carl Schlechter, Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung, 1908. What is White’s first move?…
‘He couldn’t help being a bit surreal’
Love him or loathe him, Lucian Freud was a maverick genius whose life from the off was as singular as…
Italian underworld
Bardo St James’s Restaurant – a name which reads like a map – is a vast new Italian restaurant in…
The big beast from the far north
Don’t bother watching those gazillion-dollar TV prequels to The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. Who needs gratuitous…
Royal’s success
The London Mindsports Centre in Hammersmith opened its doors in 2021, after it was converted from a Salvation Army building.…
Well up
‘We got a gusher!’ exclaimed my husband in his idea of the accent of a Texan oil prospector. Normally, I’m…
2574: A Chinese
The unclued Across lights (including a pair) are of a kind and the unclued Down lights can be preceded by…
Solution to 2571: 10”
The TEN unclued lights are Scottish islands – or ‘INCHES’. First prize Mrs F.A. Bull, Canterbury Runners-up Susan Hay, Wolverhampton;…
Death in Rome
On Sunday 17 September 1820, John Keats and his travelling companion, the young painter Joseph Severn, set sail for Italy,…
Do the business
In Competition No. 3267, you were invited to supply a song from the songbook of one of today’s corporate giants.…
Only one half of the story
As introductions go, ‘My name is Agnès, but that is not important’ does not have quite the same confidence as…
The poly-problems of polyamory
The saddest thing I saw this week was a dating advert written by a woman – let’s call her Jane…
Composer’s Notebook
There were two world premieres during the Queen’s funeral on Monday. One was a beautiful setting of some verses from…
