Author: ulaca

When he was young, my brother had a thing about conspiracies – and apricot kernels, but that’s another matter. A book called None Dare Call it Conspiracy had persuaded him that the world was full … Read more “Times 26113 – Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me!”

I’m going through a bit of a British propaganda war movie phase at the moment, including a brace of films released a year apart which both feature ‘way’ in the title, one starring John Mills … Read more “Times 26101 – All Hands on Deck?”

A little more Labour than normal needed on this Bank Holiday puzzle. I negotiated it safely if unspectacularly in 50 minutes, rather as I imagine Cook, AN Other, Balance, Root and the other boys will … Read more “Times 26089 – Meaty Mayday”

Some very nice stuff here, despite one bit of parsing that eludes me, not to mention one shrub that made me feel a right Albert. 46 minutes notwithstanding all that. ACROSS 1. MANDRAGORA – DRAG … Read more “Times 26077 – A Shrub Too Far”

A busy morning means I’ll get to this in the afternoon (HK time), so the blog should be up by 9am UK time. Well, that wasn’t too painful. Just 14 minutes, in fact, so expect … Read more “Times 26065 – A Piece of the Proverbial”

One of the easiest Mondays to come along for a long time, especially for our transatlantic friends. Experts and those who relish a challenge will be singing along with Bob and his Rats. 15.5 minutes … Read more “Times 26047 – One for the Yanks”

Well, this was certainly not your average Monday. The SE corner went in on a wing and a prayer – not to mention a knowledge of a cricketing legend of the mid-twentieth century – so … Read more “Times 26041 – Like Webster’s?”

A pleasant offering with a scorpion-like sting in the tail for me, although gynecologists will be in clover. A nice mix of clues, including two candidates for Lifetime Award for Chestnut. 43 minutes. ACROSS 1. … Read more “Times 26029 – O Publius Virgilius Marrow!”

This rather appealed to me as it had something about it I rarely run across in the Monday slot – a little oddness. Okay, more than a little. Despite messing up 11a (which is Eminently … Read more “Times 26017 – A Most Quirkful Offering”

I am just returned from Down Under, where my wager that a Brit would still be left standing in Melbourne Park long after the last Aussie had departed to the loneliness of the locker room … Read more “Times 26005 – Let’s Take a Walk Together”