Remembering John Tavener
The composer believed in miracles, but the image of an unsmiling preacher is just his public persona
The killing fields
In the future, everyone will have silly names. Some people will be called Haymitch Abernathy. Others will be Effie Trinket…
Baroque brilliance
Jason; The Coronation of Poppea; Agrippina; all by the English Touring Opera — review
Squirming at Screwtape
Air Force One; Book of the Week (The Screwtape Letters); Curlew River — review
Images of war
Catalyst: Contemporary Art And War; Mike Moore and Lee Cracker; Donovan Wylie - review
High life
Plus: Thanks for calling me a billionaire, Deborah Ross, but nobody in the world should own more than 100 million quid
Low life
The beer garden at the back of the pub was empty, save one woman sitting alone at a table contemplating…
Real life
'Something inside me, some vital component whose function it is to restrain base instincts, went ping!'
Long life
The pope wants to bring the Church back to the days when it had no hierarchy or laws — but those days never existed
Twelve to Follow
Women have some of the top-class horses — look out for those of Rebecca Curtis, Emma Lavelle, Venetia Williams
Bridge
Everyone over a certain age can remember the sense of shock that comes when policemen start looking like mere boys.…
Bifurcation
As predicted last week, the samurai standoff between Anand and Carlsen was swiftly shattered. After quiet draws in games one…
No. 293
Black to play. This is a variation from Anand-Carlsen; World Championship (Game 4), Chennai 2013. Anand avoided this position, although he…
Sporting double
In Competition 2824 you were invited to submit double clerihews about a well-known sporting figure past or present. The…
2140: Essex Man
Our hero must be revealed by shading six cells appropriately. Four unclued lights are key words in 11s featuring the…
to 2137: Speculation
The two words were BULL and BEAR. BULL is suggested by 36, 41, 6 and 10; BEAR by 34, 37,…
My life as a litter monitor
The think tank Policy Exchange has just published an excellent report on Britain’s urban green spaces called ‘Park Land’. The…
Retrofitted arguments
Sexual orientation and immigration are so emotionally charged, sometimes we retro-fit our arguments to fit our instincts
Dear Mary
Plus: Using Colleague D to deal with Colleagues A, B and C; the automatic pet feeder as a husband choc-eating device
