Puzzle no. 431
White to play. This position is a variation from Carlsen-Karjakin, Monaco 2011. Although White is a rook up he only…
Low life
In 1999 I went to the doctor about the impotence. Don’t worry, he said. I have good news for you.…
Ig Nobel
In Competition No. 2970 you were invited to supply an extract from an Ig Nobel Prize-winner’s speech that describes the…
Long life
‘Welcome, Mr Chancellor, to the Age UK community,’ said the voice. It was a warm, friendly woman’s voice, but bearing…
Bridge
I felt like an absolute hypocrite the other week. Sally Brock’s team had just beaten Alexander Allfrey’s in the semi-finals…
2283: Be damned
The unclued lights (one of two words, one of three and-another of four components) are of a kind. Chambers gives…
to 2280: Acorns
The unclued lights are famous British OAK trees. First prize Gerry Fairweather, Layer Marney, Essex Runners-up Mrs L. Ashley, Shoreham-by-Sea,…
Cruel boy errors
Perhaps you are slightly concerned about your son. At present he is sitting in the crawlspace beneath your home wearing…
Dear Mary
Q. Next month, four of us from university are going up on a wildfowling trip north of Inverness. We are…
Whisky galore
A long-standing friend of mine is a lucky fellow. He has spent his career doing exactly what he was born…
Marmite vs Bovril
‘How can Bovril be suitable for vegetarians?’ asked my husband. ‘Bo- comes from bos, Latin for an ox.’ He was…
Sydney University’s female trouble
It’s perhaps the single greatest prank in the history of University of Sydney student politics. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:…
Climate change? The future lies in innovation, not the same-old, same-old
The industrial burning of fossil fuels has released CO2 that is purported to be responsible for .7 degrees of planetary…
The ACT votes for spin
Apparently, Canberrans have decisively voted for a light rail. At least this is how various commentators have interpreted last weekend’s ACT election result. But…
Reconciliation: let’s focus on the achievable referendum
Readers of Flat White will have noted John Stone’s preview of a forum held at Parliament House on Wednesday. The purpose of the event was to…
Hennessy XO and the Hennessy Gold Cup
Hennessy, the best-selling cognac of all, is giving two lucky Spectator readers the chance to win a bottle of Hennessy…
Time to Ged real about the CFMEU
On Monday’s Q&A, ACTU leader Ged Kearney claimed that the Government’s proposed reinstatement of the ABCC was about ‘union breaking’…
Books and Arts opener
The post Books and Arts opener appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment…
Cover 15 October 2016
http://www.spectator.co.uk/content/uploads/2016/10/pod1910.mp3 The post Cover 15 October 2016 appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and…
Shady past
David Hockney: It is a kind of joke, but I really mean it when I say Caravaggio invented Hollywood lighting.…
Face time
As a chat-up line it was at least unusual. On 8 January 1927, a 46-year-old man approached a young woman…
High and low
‘Besides feeble writing, there is a mixture of tragic-comedy and buffoonery in it, which Apostolo Zeno and Metastasio had banished…
The power of song
‘I went in at seven and came out aged 22,’ said Brian as he looked back on the day in…
Ziggurat of bilge
Ella Hickson’s new play analyses our relationship with oil using the sketch format. First, there’s a candlelit soap opera set…
