no. 502
White to play. This position is from Karjakin-Caruana, Berlin 2018. This game was Caruana’s only reverse in Berlin. Karjakin now…
Let’s talk about sex
In Competition No. 3044 you were invited to provide a lesson in the facts of life courtesy of a well-known…
2355: 13 16
13 1A 23 22 is an eight-word quotation by 34 in ODQ. Other unclued lights, including one of three words,…
to 2352: Upright Characters
‘THE WRITING ON THE WALL’ (Daniel 5.5) at 12/22/41 was ‘MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN’ at 23/16/26, according to Brewer, which…
How to get your child into the best state school: an insider’s tips
Monday was ‘national offer day’, which means that more than half a million parents across England were notified about which…
I love this Pep-mania, but don’t forget Klopp
Fittingly, it took a dire performance from a dismal and dreary United against the worst team in the Premier League…
Dear Mary: At a smart dinner party, is it wrong to ask for the wifi code?
Q. My husband and I are excited to have been invited to dinner by our most important neighbour. However our…
If it’s austere calm you want, Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill is for you
Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill is on Swallow Street, an alley between Piccadilly and Regent Street, which swallowed most of…
That Beano word ‘scoff’ was first coined in the mid-19th century
Scarcely a sober breath has been drawn in my house all week for celebrating the 90th anniversary of the completion…
Harlotry in the collective of collectives
Who controls the mainstream media? Baldwin famously declared that moguls like Lord Rothermere and Lord Beaverbrook did, exercising power without…
Brown study
It was inevitable that sooner or later the sexual harassment scandal would change tack and ensnare some of those who…
Australian notes
Sorry seems to be the easiest word I am sorry to have to say this, but I think we all…
Heather Mitchell
This probably is a bad idea; I mean writing a column about a transgender person. Even Germain Greer got herself…
Adventures on Thought Crime Island
Britain has broken out the banhammer and is coming after your favourite comedians. It’s also decided words matter more than…
Trump’s red line
One of the revelations of the 14 April military attack on three government sites in Syria by the United States,…
Manipulating Facebook
Judging by the way Mark Zuckerberg was cross-examined before Congress last week, you’d think Facebook was on the brink of…
Business/Robbery etc
Whacko! American farmers have now joined the Australian economy in being seriously at risk of collateral damage from ‘friendly fire’…
Oddballs and lefties
Ah, populism: is it a fulsome democratic expression of giving people what they want or merely join-the-dots fear-mongering? Bit of…
Patchwork power
The Australian summer has passed with only the occasional blackout, although a possibly grim winter, once unseasonably warm weather in…
In praise of Israel (1)
Free speech has a new champion, and his name is Israel Folau. And once again, the corporate, political and media…
Get stoned, vote Green
The Greens want to legalise cannabis for Australians over the age of 18, citing “how damaging the tough on drugs…
Why capitalism trumps socialism
The argument that capitalism is superior to socialism is – sadly – one that has to be repeatedly made. Despite…
Is this the single most stupid ABC assertion ever?
As a venerable publication just shy of its190th birthday The Spectator has to eschew hyperbole (don’t use the Julia Gillard…
The monstrous evil of Nazi/Israeli moral equivalence
Gaza is the Warsaw Ghetto. The Israelis are Nazis. Palestinians are the victims of genocide. These are claims that are…
