Ernest Hemingway
Entertainment in a public place shrivels as the lockdowns continue. The Australian Ballet has cancelled its Melbourne season, Anna Karenina…
Aussie Life
One recent golden morning, as I struggled to corral my customarily disordered senses into working order, I was suddenly hit…
Aussie Language
‘LGAs’. Since when did this ugly piece of bureaucratic jargon become part of everyday English? Because the bureaucrats keep rattling…
Puzzle No. 667
White to play and draw. The conclusion of an endgame study composed by J. Hašek (1951). Black is preparing a…
Containment
‘Exchange chess’ (also known as bughouse) is the chess equivalent of a three-legged race. It is played in teams of…
2520: 5 4 3 2 1
The unclued lights, two of two words and the others as four pairs, are of a kind. Across 6…
The turf
Taking a day off racing to enjoy Joe Root’s regal 180 not out against India on the third day of…
The Spectator’s Notes
Q. Is a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable? The President: No, it is not. Q. Why? The President: Because…
High life
Gstaad It seems to be open season on the royals, starting with Prince Andrew and the charges against him by…
Letters
Zero balance Sir: James Kirkup (‘In defence of net zero’, 14 August) highlights the falling cost of solar and wind…
Low life
My two grandsons are staying with us here in Provence for a week. Roman soldier Catriona flew from Marseille to…
Real life
If it’s true that the virus finds your weak spot, it has lodged itself like an evil monkey in my…
Bridge
Live bridge is back. It kicked off two weekends ago with Eastbourne’s Swiss Pairs. I went with my friend Ollie…
Trip adviser
In Competition No. 3212 you were invited to provide a spiel that a well-known character from the field of fact…
Time to restore normality in the world of work
Give or take a few leader-writing shifts and editing projects, I’ve been working from home for the past 30 years,…
