Real life
‘Anything you say may be given in evidence. Do you have anything to say?’ I looked at the baby-faced police…
Will normality return on 21 June?
‘Alas’ is a word used many times by Boris Johnson during the pandemic. It is how he prefaces announcements that…
Weeping wounds
In France, even the car horns yelled about Algeria. A five-beat klaxon blast — three short, two long — signalled…
Letter from Texas
Austin ‘If I owned Texas and Hell,’ General Phil Sheridan famously said, ‘I would rent out Texas and live in…
Jolly good company
In the spring of 1945 three men pooled their resources in order to buy Long Crichel House, a former rectory…
No offence
At a time when resources are scarce, the Merseyside Constabulary must have thought long and hard about its recent advertising…
Solution to 2492: Little man
The solution at 1 Across includes the theme-word PAUL which means ‘little’, hence the puzzle’s title. First prize Mike Leese,…
Puzzle No. 642
Black to play. Warakomski-–Korobov, February 2021. White has a pin on the b-file and 1…Bxg2+ 2 Kxg2 Bc5 3 Rb7…
Divine revelation
Rosie Millard gets her gloved hands on one of the world’s most lavish – and expensive – art books
Thoughtful thriller
To begin on a cheerful note, it’s certainly been a good week for fans of slow-burn British crime dramas with…
Bridge
The late, great Martin Hoffman always claimed he was the unluckiest player in the world. If he was playing rubber,…
Letters
Nothing to fear Sir: Many of us await the day when we can travel abroad for much-anticipated holidays — but…
Low life
After weeks of living in the 18th century, going everywhere on foot and encountering few other souls, I drove to…
Barometer
State of the art Graffiti on Edvard Munch’s first version of ‘The Scream’ was revealed to be the work of…
The struggle to put bread on the table
Wheat flour, and the bread made from it, has been a recurring cause of concern for the British for centuries,…
The enquiring minds of Egypt
The government has plans to fund a new research agency to back ‘cutting-edge science’. Ptolemaios (Ptolemy) I (367-282 bc), the…
