Bridge
When bridge moved from actual tables to virtual tables last March, it quickly became clear that cheating was ruining the…
A salute to the ‘inessential’
A common sight across Britain these past ten months has been those rainbow flags fluttering in urban and village streets:…
It wasn’t rocket science Jay Elwes
In the summer of 2012, a man was walking near Jabal Shashabo, a Syrian rebel enclave, when he spotted a…
Doc Martens
Doc Martens are one of those quintessentially British things that, like the royal family and lorries queuing on the M20,…
The triggers of memory
Can you remember when you heard about 9/11? Chances are you’ll be flooded instantly with memories — not only where…
Pilgrim’s Notebook
A few of the hip young things sitting along the Lisbon quayside turned their heads my way as my walking…
The big tech bullies
I was in the kitchen preparing the family’s dinner when the inauguration of Joe Biden was on TV, so I…
What lies beneath
Just before the outbreak of the second world war a discovery was made in a riverside field at Sutton Hoo…
The KLF: Solid State Logik 1
Grade: A What a miracle the KLF were: an elaborate practical joke at the expense of the music industry, seemingly…
The rise of opera film
I’m still waiting for the Royal Opera to step up. Nearly a year into the Covid crisis and what do…
to 2488: Clueless
Unclued lights were games played in I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue: SOUND CHARADES, SWANEE KAZOO, CHEDDAR GORGE, PICK UP…
Adverbial
In Competition No. 3183 you were invited to submit a short story entitled ‘My Year of Living [insert adverb of…
Puzzle no. 638
Kokkoris–Kavalek, Athens 1968. Kavalek’s next move initiated a beautiful forced mating sequence. What did he play? Answers should be emailed…
Low life
‘Anything you want?’ says Catriona on her way out of the house to go to the shop. I’m standing at…
Letters
Canterbury tales Sir: Having opened my copy of The Spectator upon arrival in the post, I read your article ‘Welby’s…
Real life
An everlasting lightbulb brighter than the Dog Star was installed in the street lamp outside my house one morning as…
Diary
I start the week with someone throwing faeces at me. I thought people were supposed to clap for doctors these…
In no woman’s land
As a child, I loved the Ladybird ‘People at Work’ series. I had the ones on the fireman, the policeman,…
