Double trouble
The Bolshoi Ballet’s wunderkind ballerina Natalia Osipova defied received wisdom when, in 2012, she cast off from the great Moscow…
Brown study
Malcolm Turnbull has certainly made a name for himself since he became leader of the Liberal party. The party that…
Erectile dysfunction
Anthony Weiner is the American politician who made a comeback after a sexting scandal and stood for New York mayor.…
Australian notes
Some readers may be wondering what it’s like to vote Labor for the first time. Okay, by ‘vote Labor’ I…
Friel good factor
Does anyone believe Brian Friel’s libellous blarney? He portrays Ireland in the 20th century as an economic basket case where…
Innovation and iftar
The conventional wisdom surrounding Malcolm Turnbull’s ascension to Prime Minister was that his more moderate leanings would allow him to…
Echoes of Italy
‘Hidden beauty is best (half seen), faces turned away.’ So noted a young English painter named Winifred Knights in 1924.…
Soaking wet at Songkran
Songkran is not the best time of year to be a correspondent in Pattaya. It’s not that the story you’re…
Fifty shades of grey
Grey men in grey overcoats walking through grey architecture. If you had to pick an image to reflect the current…
Business/Robbery etc
It looks like costing Australian businesses multi-billions of dollars – and taxpaying Australians multi-billions more. Malcolm Turnbull’s woeful election campaign…
No. 416
White to play. This is from Kasparov-Alonso, Simultaneous Display, Moenchengladbach 2016. How did White conclude his attack? Answers to me…
Passing through Bologna
Sooner or later, no matter where you are travelling on Italian railways, you are likely to pass through Bologna Centrale.…
Korchnoi’s French
As we bid farewell to the great Viktor Korchnoi, it is worth pointing out that he was one of those…
No. 416
White to play. This is from Kasparov-Alonso, Simultaneous Display, Moenchengladbach 2016. How did White conclude his attack? Answers to me…
The colour purple
In Competition No. 2955 you were invited to supply a report on a Uefa Euro 2016 match written in the…
Dear Mary
Q. My son goes into his final year at school this September and I would like him to be able…
A touch of class
Cliveden is a good review for a divided country and I have waited, not too long, for it to feel…
The shame of Iraq
‘If it falls apart, everything falls apart in the region’ — Note from Tony Blair to George W. Bush, 2…
High life
I am trying to decide with some friends which is worse, English weather or English football. The former is improving…
Long life
Amid the bloodshed and chaos that followed David Cameron’s resignation as prime minister, Theresa May earned praise for seeking to…
Long life
Amid the bloodshed and chaos that followed David Cameron’s resignation as prime minister, Theresa May earned praise for seeking to…
Low life
I walked into the bar and there was Trev standing in front of a giant screen showing Germany v. Italy…
Low life
I walked into the bar and there was Trev standing in front of a giant screen showing Germany v. Italy…
Baby with the bathwater
Bustle, an online newspaper ‘for and by women’, has published ‘six common phrases you didn’t know were sexist (that you’ll…
