A dramatic dream of Australia
1922 is the wonder year of twentieth century literature, the so-called annus mirabilis: T.S. Eliot published The Waste Land, James…
Britain’s national character flaws
Before we start, let’s firmly establish my long-standing affection for the United Kingdom. Why, some of my best friends are…
Haldane would have been a smarter inflation fighter than Bailey
Would Andy Haldane, the economist who left the Bank of England to run the Royal Society of Arts, have made…
Where there’s a will
In Competition No. 3248, you were asked to submit the last will and testament of a fictional character. In a…
Soldiery stuff
The Battlegroundpodcast on the wars of the 20th century, said presenter Saul David happily, ‘will have lots of bombs and…
Puzzle No. 702
White to play. Averbakh-Zita, Szczawno-Zdroj 1950. Black has just interposed Rb6-g6, so White needs an accurate finish before e3-e2 mate…
Letters
Disarming by default Sir: Underpinning Rod Liddle’s amusing article on use of nuclear weapons last week is the reassurance provided…
Solution to 2552: 😀
The emoticon which formed the title of the puzzle suggested George Smiley, Le Carré’s nemesis of MI6 moles, ordered as…
A sentimental surrealist
We’re doing multiverses now. Last weekend, a friend dragged me to see Marvel’s latest product, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse…
Come spy with me
How thriller writers must miss the Cold War! Early John le Carré and Len Deighton had it easy when trying…
Old cud and fleshy frumps
Artist, actor, social justice warrior, serial killer. Laura Gascoigne on the many faces of Walter Sickert
Buffalo
Buffalo are now living in the fens of Kent. Why – have we slipped into the metaverse of Lewis Carroll?…
The Muppet show
There are many things to enjoy in the Royal Opera’s revival of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, but perhaps the most surprising…
2555: 6 x 2 mixtures
The unclued lights (one of two words) can be resolved into six pairs, in some way related. Ignore one acute…
Skin in the game
Drummers are patient chaps, in the main. Think of Ringo in Peter Jackson’s recent Beatles docuseries, Get Back. Lolling around…
Non, merci
The Ukraine crisis has transformed international affairs, forcing countries the world over to rethink their alliances and interests. New patterns…
Remembering Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh had a wry explanation for why he was made chairman of the USSR Chess Federation in 1972. There…
Auntie’s issues
At long last the state of Oregon has got around to installing tampon machines in the male lavatories of its…
Portrait of the week
Home The Prince of Wales delivered the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament sitting on a throne next…
Body language
‘I fink I doan luv yew any maw.’ A marital bust-up drama at the National Theatre opens with a whining…
