All in the mind
Plus: at the Haymarket, Taken by Midnight feeds the Hitler myth, while trying to debunk it
Stealing a march
And it contains the best performance of the year that’s not been nominated for an Oscar - and Oprah’s not bad either
Arab spring
Its audience is up by 15 per cent year on year. Here’s why it’s essential that its nuanced approach survives
Seeing the elephant
Worryingly, every soldier this American-turned-Libyan-rebel meets thinks he’s in a war movie
High life
If Syriza follows my advice Greece will be the Switzerland of the south in five years’ time (and I’ll have a sex change)
The Shading Out of Poetry by Deadline
Like old-time washerwomen floodwater is sousing trees and shrubs out on the drainage. Floating wrack dribbles seaward from their labour.…
From the horse’s mouth
The horse’s-eye view of the fastest two-year-old in history works surprisingly well
Bridge
There is something decidedly Groundhog Day about the international bridge calendar. The second weekend of January is TGR’s Auction Pairs…
Sixes and sevens
The veteran world championship contender, Victor Korchnoi, has accused the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen of hypnotising his opponents. Plainly unimpressed by…
No. 348
White to play. This position is a variation from Nakamura-Topalov, Gibraltar 2015. Topalov has already resigned this game as he…
Your problem solved
In Competition No. 2883 you were invited to cast a well-known writer, living or dead, in the role of agony…
2197: Missing
Chambers 2014 is certainly not recommended this week theme-wise! But Chambers 2011 is. Across 1 Cuckoo born…
To 2194: Joe Green
The unclued lights (including 10/1A) are operas by Giuseppe Verdi (whose name in translation is Joe Green). First prize…
Why I won’t cry for Harry
I’m trying to control my feelings about Harry, but the timing of his departure from QPR makes it difficult
A cheerleader to swear by
Cherish one of the greatest British sports people ever – and our No. 1 Wag
Big gamble
The determination by many in the media, even among conservatives, to hasten the demise of Tony Abbott’s prime ministership is…
Sir Phil the Greek; the truth
The usual suspects in the commentariat have peddled myths, untruths and lies about the knighting of Prince Philip
Californian diary
The American Republic has always been characterized by great political families. From earliest days, from the Adams and the Harrisons…
‘Sir’ Bob Carr and the Round Table of Hypocrisy
Plenty of Tony Abbott’s critics have accepted foreign Knighthoods of their own
