Black and beyond
When Prince Albert died in 1861, aged 42, Queen Victoria, after briefly losing the use of her legs, ordered that…
Grand old master of modernism
How minor is minor? ‘Rings a bell’ was more or less the response of two English literature graduates, now successful…
Funny, warm and eccentric
It must have been awful for Diana and Duff Cooper to be separated from their only child during the war,…
Going nowhere
Just how interesting you find The Fifth Estate may entirely depend on how interested you are in the whistle-blowing site…
First impressions
Which album would you gladly hear again and again? Marcus Berkmann picks Spirit of Eden
The good and the ugly
The Watts Gallery, just outside Guildford off the Hog’s Back, is a delightful place to visit at any season, with…
Divine comedy
Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (but if it’s given in English, why not The Bat? Does that somehow sound too unglamorous?)…
The rivals
A feast of pleasures, and some annoyances, at the Trike. Handbagged, by Moira Buffini, is a fictional account of the…
Watching the detectives
Did Dr Jekyll turn into Jack the Ripper? Besides becoming evil Mr Hyde, did Robert L. Stevenson’s fictional creation morph…
Finding a connection
Why are we still listening to the radio in 2013, to an outdated technology that has hardly changed in manufacture…
Red carpet attraction
Live broadcasts into cinemas have become something of a commonplace, and a welcome one: operas, theatre performances, even radio programmes.…
High life
New York Libyans are among the most civilised people on earth. When a Russian hooker (I assume) killed a Libyan…
Low life
A surprisingly convivial atmosphere prevailed in the second-class carriage of the fast London-bound train when I stepped aboard at Bodmin.…
Real life
‘Excuse me. I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation and I have to tell you, as a Catholic, I’m offended.’ The…
Long life
The Italians are often thought of as being unpatriotic, and one can see why. They relentlessly denigrate their national institutions,…
Great expectations
At the degenerative stage of a dinner party recently I heard related with perfect timing the tale of the gent…
Bridge
The 2013 IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) Awards have just been published — and it’s no great surprise to see…
Time for change
Former world champion Garry Kasparov has announced that he will stand for president of Fidé, the World Chess Federation, next…
No. 287
White to play. This is from Euwe-Alekhine, Zurich 1934. It looks as if Alekhine may have won Euwe’s knight due…
Literary merger
In Competition 2818 you were asked to merge two literary classics and provide a synopsis of the new title. You…
2134: Mere letters
Each unclued across light can be paired with a down one (one hyphened). Each member of a pair is an…
