Seeing the light
Martin Gayford talks to the pioneering light artist about his resplendent new show at Houghton Hall
The pretenders
Why Marcus Berkmann feels relief and a certain reluctant respect for the folk band’s shift to stadium rock
Blowing hot and cold
Plus: John Fulljames new Cosi fan tutte for Garsington Opera feels like it’s been put together by someone with a very busy in-tray
Hard reign
Plus: Stop - The Play at the Trafalgar Studios offers you the chance to watch luvvies loving luvvies being luvvies
Dead behind the eyes
Another jaw-dropping documentary about the Indonesian genocide from the director of the Oscar-winning The Act of Killing
Pet rescue
Doesn’t everyone know that Napoleon was the most brilliant and inspirational generals ever?
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Michael Tanner says the ubiquitous German baritone turned brief songs into ‘meaningful’ slogs
Bridge
Andrew (Bertie) Black started his bridge life many moons ago but stopped to found Betfair, which became the world’s largest…
Triple tie
This week I conclude my coverage of the Fidé (World Chess Federation) Grand Prix which finished last month in Khanty-Mansiysk.…
No. 366
Black to play. This is from Rodriguez-Xiong, California 2012. How does Black finish off? Answers to me at The Spectator…
Pylon poetry
In Competition No. 2901 you were invited to write a poem in praise of a modern-day blot on the landscape.…
2215: IVOs
The unclued lights (one hyphened and another a novel which is listed in Chambers Crossword Dictionary) display a similar feature…
To 2212: : Plus Ça Change
The unclued Across lights (15, 23/21, 38 and 39) are LITERAL anagrams of the unclued Down lights (3, 19, 32/37,…
The Canadian Ed Miliband
Michael Ignatieff showed a political cack-handedness that was at odds with his reputation as a brilliant intellectual
Your problems solved
The skinny on visitors’ books, children’s choc ices and faddist-friendly cheese and biscuits
Grills just want to have fun
Here is everything the less mad of the very rich might want to eat between 7 a.m. and midnight
Trigger
As a mature woman I am angry at the childish passive-aggressive mentality of the Columbia Four
