Miscellaneous

The Dutch artist Theo Jansen has a unique speciality. His ‘Strandbeest’ (beach animals) are kinetic sculptures, which he likes to set free upon a windswept beach. Fashioned from plastic tubes, bottles and the like, these imposing skeletons appear to ‘walk’ along the seafront with a gait at once laboured and graceful: a compelling synthesis of engineering and art.  When I first watched this magnificent spectacle on YouTube, I was immediately reminded of the cold, gusty walks along the beach at Wijk aan Zee, the town in Holland where the annual Tata Steel tournament is held. (Curiously, Jansen hails from Scheveningen, a seaside resort which lends its name to a variation

A few months ago, The Spectator became the fastest-growing current affairs magazine not just in Britain but in Europe. Magazine industry figures are out today and we’re delighted to announce that in the second half of last year, each issue of The Spectator sold 83,020 copies, up 8.9 per cent on the year. This is an average for the six months: the figure now is significantly higher. In April, we’ll become the first magazine in the history of publishing to print a 10,000th issue: we’ll do so with sales at an all-time high. What’s driving our success? We have the best writers – Rod Liddle, Matthew Parris and Charles Moore,

The unclued lights can be linked with GOLDEN, at 30D, which had to be highlighted. The trio is GOLDEN EYE OINTMENT (30/40/43).   First prize Mike Conway, Grantham, Lincolnshire Runners-up Jack Shonfield, Child Okeford, Dorset; Angus Ross, Old Portsmouth, Hants

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 28 February for the next in this year’s series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Alex Schulz, fifth generation owner and head winemaker of Turkey Flat Vineyards, the cult winery of the Barossa Valley, Australia. First planted with Shiraz in 1847, Turkey Flat Vineyards is one of the oldest producers in Australia, famed not only for the remarkable quality of their sustainably-farmed Rhône-style wines but also their downright accessibility. Over a fine, four course cold lunch provided by Forman & Field, Alex will present and discuss a number of wines including the Turkey Flat White,

So that’s January done and dusted. Phew! I don’t know about you, but the wretched water wagon — to which I clung by my fingernails as always – is but a grim memory and I’m raring to go.jonath Happily, my abstinence proved to Mrs Ray that I’m not a complete dipso; my liver had a rest and, thanks to my patent diet of homemade lentil soup followed by Green & Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate (other fine chocolate is available), I’ve lost 12lb since New Year’s Eve. Don’t laugh, it works. The soup is a doddle to make and gives me lunch for the week. Simply soften some chopped onion and

Sad to say, the length of time you’ve been playing bridge is no indication of how good you are. Indeed, you can play with gusto every day of your life, but if you never venture outside your same circle, or take lessons or read books, then — to put it bluntly — you probably have no idea how bad you are. I recently read an amusing article about this by the Scottish novelist Alexander McCall Smith, author of the hugely popular No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. He and his wife love bridge, and some years ago took a cruise which offered classes. His wife, a ‘much stronger player’, chose

To buy tickets, head to the Spectator Shop. Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Friday 14 February for the next in this year’s series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches with Nicole Rolet, owner of Chêne Bleu, the boutique estate in the southern Rhône celebrated for its organic, biodynamic ‘couture’ wines which Decanter Magazine declared to be ‘exceptional’. Chêne Bleu – described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘The world’s first super Rhône’, lies is a dramatically isolated position high in the Dentelles de Montmirail above Gigondas and Séguret and has deliberately opted out of the appellation contrôlée system, allowing them to make the wines that they feel best reflect the

The Journey of the Magi (38A and 39A), by T.S. Eliot, was based on an earlier sermon by Lancelot Andrewes, which is the source of the perimeter’s version of the quotation (starting ‘in the East’, down the right-hand column). His name appears in anagram form at 43D and 12D; and T.S. Eliot similarly at 47D —all three anagrams had to be highlighted. The magi’s gifts are shown in 8D and 28D. The Winners The first prize of £100, three prizes of £25 and six further prizes of The Penguin Book Quiz by James Walton go to the following. The first four winners will each also receive a bottle of champagne. First prize