The war against intelligence
Two weeks have passed and somehow James Conway is still in a job. He is the director of the English…
Solution to 2522: A trifle
Unclued lights were synonyms of NOTHING. ‘A trifle’ is one definition of nothing given in Chambers. First prize James Knox,…
The wife’s story
‘One day,’ she writes, ‘we had the Minister for Northern Ireland for the night. He arrived wearing a kilt, which…
In the soup
In Competition No. 3217, you were invited to supply a poem that begins or ends with the line ‘Why must…
The Covid pantomime at my father’s memorial
This last weekend I attended the memorial service for my father, who died in July. This isn’t a bid for…
2525: Prime Times
Elements of four symmetrically disposed unclued lights confirm the 5 Down. Enumerations indicate lengths of clues’ ‘full’ solutions. Across…
No. 672
Black to play. J. Polgar — Gaprindashvili, Novi Sad Olympiad 1990. Gaprindashvili’s next move prompted immediate resignation. What did she…
Of vice and men
In the Levant, the grape has been cultivated for millennia, some of it used for wine. The hills of Lebanon…
Dust to dust
Anyone with a grasp of the history of Britain knows that its once considerable power, and much of its still…
The whole picture
There’s an intriguing conversation on YouTube between Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, and the artist Damien…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. I never lie about my age but I try not to think — or talk — about it. Now…
Nona vs Netflix
Last year’s Netflix mini-series The Queen’s Gambit hit all the right notes. For the neophytes, it was quirky and intriguing.…
Flight into danger
Flying has always attracted chancers and characters to Africa. Wilbur Smith’s father so loved aviation he named his son to…
Low life
In former times I had acquaintances of long standing, or even friends, who never once asked what I did for…
The Covid blame game
Are you ready to relive 2020? That’s what Adam Tooze is offering as he tells the story of Covid-19 through…
Driven to abstraction
If Modernism is a jungle, how do you navigate a path through its thickets? Some explorers — Peter Gay and…
Real life
After the landowner told us to be out in three weeks, then admitted we had three months to move our…
Backbencher’s notebook
Politicians are supposed to have a survival instinct. Mine didn’t kick in last week, so I had no idea that…
High life
It’s nice to be back in London, and Glebe Place is a delight. Mind you, it’s not the mansion I…
Weapons of mass indoctrination
Peter Pomeranzev describes the refinement of thought-control techniques over the past century – and the worldwide competition to employ them
The preoccupations of a poet
In her essay ‘A House of One’s Own’, about Vanessa Bell, Janet Malcolm says memorably that Bloomsbury is a fiction,…
