The redemption of Flannery O’Connor
I have a thought for the students of Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland: this Easter, why not resurrect Flannery O’Connor?…
Without borders
Community music-making is the unifying jewel in the British crown, says James MacMillan
A passion for pots
The use of ‘Ceramic’ rather than ‘Ceramics’ in the title of this book indicates Paul Greenhalgh’s passionate belief that ‘ceramic…
Small things misbehaving
Helgoland is a craggy German island in the North Sea. Barely bigger than a few fields, it reaches high above…
Nag, nag, nag
What an awful title. Something we hacks are forever saying (along with ‘Make mine a double’ and ‘Is it still…
So damned French
For the past few weeks I have been binge-watching the Netflix series Call My Agent! (or Dix pour cent, as…
Fortune favours the brave
If you wish to unsettle your opponents, first attack them and second, play the moves quickly. It’s far from easy…
Puzzle no. 647
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by B.P. Barnes, Skakbladet 1961. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk…
Beastly
In Competition No. 3192 you were invited to submit a short story that features an animal (or animals) taking revenge…
Low life
‘Alas, David can’t be here this afternoon,’ I told the French teacher as she let me into her light and…
Bridge
These days, most tournaments take place either on Bridge Base Online or Realbridge. I far prefer BBO for one reason:…
Letters
Ticket to freedom Sir: While I sympathise immensely with the spirit of last week’s lead article (‘Friends in need’, 27…
Normal life matters
I wonder exactly when we agreed that it is more of a priority to gather with strangers than to meet…
Real life
Watching a woman driving a dog past my house like a carthorse is just another ‘new normal’ of lockdown. This…
Portrait of the Week
Home More than 30 million had received their first dose vaccination. The government remained confident of supplying second doses and…
The turf
How Father Sean Breen would have loved this year’s Cheltenham Festival. The late parish priest at Ballymore Eustace, who owned…
to 2497: Scramble
Six of the unclued lights are RAF stations of WW2. First prize Kathleen Durber, Stoke-on-Trent Runners-up Alison Gillam, Knotty Green,…
High life
Chelsea/Gstaad Oh, to be in England! But let’s start at the beginning. I challenge any reader to claim they are…
2500: 50 x 50
Each solution contains one letter at least once, always omitted in the cryptic wordplay of each clue. This letter and…
