Running out of time
Damian Thompson wonders whether he has time to appreciate Suk's Asrael Symphony or Hindemith's Mathis der Maler
Square dance
Andrew Lambirth is smitten by the vibrant geometries of the influential German-American painter
Balanchinian ideal
Sadler's Wells throw lovers into the cauldron of Italian Fascism. Plus: a Royal Opera House triple bill that is only let down by a murder that drags
Pony tales
As Thelwell Country at the St Barbe Museum in Lymington shows, watercolours were a large part of his repertoire too
Real life
Before long, I knew I was never going to be seen – all the babies and children were shooting to the front of the queue
Long life
The patient knows very well what the symptoms are; so does the GP. That doesn't mean they can understand the description of them
Wild life
I expected that being poisoned would be rather invigorating – similar to a whiff of tear gas in a riot
Bridge
There’s no point in soft-soaping it: however long you’ve been playing bridge, however well you think you play, if you’ve…
Iron nerves
The game that clinched Magnus Carlsen’s victory in the Gashimov Memorial came, fittingly, in a last-round cliffhanger against his closest…
No. 315
White to play. This position is from Wojtaszek-Safarli, Gashimov ‘B’ Group 2014. The white pieces are very active and the…
Scottish question
In Competition No. 2848 you were invited to submit a poem commenting on Scottish independence in the style of William…
2163: Muscle
Six unclued lights (one hyphened) suggest words each differently formed from the same 13 22, which appears as a clued…
to 2160: 18 down
The unclued lights are all CHARACTERS (18D) in Plato’s dialogues, all but SOCRATES (1A) appearing in titles. In six cells,…
Americans can’t hack it
US journalists think they're public servants. We know we're hacks – and we're good at it
Dear Mary
Plus: What to do with all those first editions from book launches, and how to deal with a fellow guest who drinks from your wine glass
