Lion loose in New Germany
1 Speech repeated ambiguously? (6-4) 7 The privilege of being correct? (5) 8 Longed for deanery to be rebuilt (7) 10 Links with teeth, presumably (5-3) 11 Makes excavations for somewhere to live (4) 13 It can, of course, be irritating to the gardener (6) 15 Child’s horse, we hear, in wind, turns out to be geese! (6) 17 Make a request after tip-top job (4) 18 Uneasy because the others don’t get so much? (8) 21 As we all might be a defence against water (3-4) 22 Reams written to defame (5) 23 Resolved to put off when dug up (10) 1 Closely follow mother in doctrine (5) 2 Lent a gun to sort out the problems (8) 3 Non-professional singer? (6) 4 Snare part put up (4) 5 Coming down to earth from the top of the stairs? (7) 6 Girl draws attention to musical embellishments (5,5) 9 Any spiders destroyed where medicines are made up (10) 12 Train sap to be unreasoning adherent (8) 14 Sole act drawn up in proportion (2,5) 16 Blamed for producing madhouse (6) 19 Set me up at the finish to make corrections (5) 20 Dull, having become submissive? (4)
6 Pothole; 7 Impel; 9 Mix; 10 Dear madam; 12 Take by storm; 15 Through road; 17 Propagate; 19 Cup; 21 Heart; 22 Riposte. 1 Movie; 2 Why; 3 Blue; 4 Impartial; 5 Repairs; 8 Prayer; 11 Major part; 13 Engage; 14 Charges; 16 Quits; 18 Trip; 20 Job.
“I see you did a week of columns on combining chances as declarer,” Unlucky Louie said to me in the club lounge. “That’s all well and good — for most people. But if I had 50 chances, none would work.”
In his penny game, Louie was declarer at today’s slam. West led a trump, and Louie drew trumps, pitching a spade and a club from dummy. East threw spades.
“I led a diamond to dummy’s ace next and tried a spade finesse with the queen,” Louie told me. “West took the king and returned a diamond, and I took the king and queen, discarding a club. If the suit had split evenly, I was home. But West threw a club.
“I still had one chance left,” Louie said. “I finessed with the queen of clubs. Down one. Maybe if I’d had two or three more chances, I would have made the slam. Now tell me I wasn’t unlucky.”
How would you have played six hearts? As is often the case, Louie was unlucky — and also unskillful. He would make six hearts if diamonds broke 3-3 or either black-suit finesse won: about an 84% chance.
But Louie would do even better — and would make the slam as the cards lay — to cash all his trumps, then lead a diamond and play low from dummy.
If East won and led, say, a spade, Louie could take the ace and try to run the diamonds. He would succeed if the diamonds broke no worse than 4-2 (an 84% chance by itself) and would have the extra chances of winning a club finesse with the queen and a possible squeeze.
BEA Pienaar is reminded by this week’s report about lions escaping from Kruger Park of another lion drama, this time closer to home in New Germany.
It was Christmas and they were having the usual gift and braai party at their auto workshop – staff about to go on leave, customers and other guests invited along.
Then word got out that a lion had escaped from a touring circus. Nobody was allowed to leave the premises until it was captured.
The fellows had to phone their wives or girlfriends and say something like: “Hi honey, I’m going to be late. There’s a lion escaped and the Parks Board and the cops won’t let us leave the party.”
It did not help that party squeakers, squeals of female laughter and other sounds of jollification were in the background. The wives and girlfriends didn’t buy it. Many of them cut up nasty. Some were insulted that their man should spin this pathetic story.
The party carried on. Nobody was allowed to leave. The beer continued flowing – until the lion was cornered, darted and drugged, which actually happened in the premises next door.
Then the fellows left for home, full of good cheer and still prattling a story about an escaped lion. It’s probable that TO THE mother of a son in a far off country, whose son is struggling with an addiction:
Your son’s addiction is his alone. It is his illness. It is no reflection whatsoever on your parenting, your home life, or on his early childhood. What your son must overcome is more powerful than you had the ability to ears were boxed.
Then next morning the whole story was in The Mercury. The guys were vindicated. Were the ladies ashamed of their suspicions and hostility of the night before? Yeah, yeah…
Dinner derailed
I CAN identify with the above. Some years ago now an old friend and his wife were visiting from the South Coast. The gals were getting together a special dinner.
As my pal and I were only getting in the way, we repaired to Point Yacht Club for some chatter, with strict instructions to be home in time for dinner.
Ensconced in Charlie’s Bar, several phone calls came through reminding us to be home for dinner. Of course, we reassured them.
Came the time and we bade our farewells to the company and left for home and dinner.
Point Yacht Club is located just off the Esplanade. To get create. While travelling to your son may bring both of you some comfort (which I doubt) it will not deliver the help and the healing he desires. The distance and the disease will exaggerate your anxiety – especially at night (darkness) – but travelling to him will only result in temporary relief. Your challenge there (or leave it) you cross the railway line at a level crossing.
And what did my friend and I find at the level crossing? Why, a goods train had derailed. There was no way through.
It was most hurtful the way the gals reacted to our telephone call. A derailment at the level crossing? They didn’t believe us. If we told them a lion was loose, it couldn’t have been worse. They suspected this was a ruse to stay on at the pub. They became combative and accusing.
It took the railway gang only a couple of hours to clear the train wreck with their cranes and things. Where else to wait but in the pub? We left as soon as we could.
The atmosphere at home was strained. How do you prove there’s been a derailment? We tuned in to the BBC world news, but not a line to support us.
Women can be very dogged in their doubting.
Then and now
IT’S another big ’un tomorrow down in Port Elizabeth. The EP Kings have two good wins under their belt. They’re looking for a hat-trick. Also recompense for their one-point loss in the dying moments at Kings Park.
This will be another humdinger. Bring it on, bring it on! is the exceedingly difficult task that mirrors his challenge – and that is to find the place within you that understands you are powerless to assist your son in this tough circumstance. His challenge is to see that he himself is powerless over his addictions.
Given that people understandably want to “do something” I’d suggest you attend local family support
But meanwhile a retrospective. Rugby writer Mike Greenaway mentioned in his column this week a Springbok-All Blacks Test way back in 1943.
It was in a prisoner-of- war camp in German-occupied Poland, that contained enough South Africans and enough Kiwis for the match to be arranged.
Among the South Africans were the great Bill Payn (of Comrades Marathon fame), who already had two peacetime Bok caps, and Okey Geffin, the goal-kicking prop who was to sink the All Blacks after the war.
Mike says the response has been phenomenal. His phone rang from early morning, including a call from Newcastle from a fellow whose neighbour, Fanie Knoetze (now deceased), was in that match and had a photo on his wall of himself with Geffin.
Yep, rugby is more than a game, it’s a brotherhood.
Tailpiece
WHY is the sea so restless?
Wouldn’t you be restless with crabs all over your bottom?
Last word
EVERYBODY is ignorant, only on different subjects. – Will Rogers
meetings and that you find men and women who have recovered and are in recovery and hear their stories.
The road to recovery is paved by hard work and is usually devoid of sentimentality.
Trust your son’s ability to find and walk it.
A former Durbanite, Smith is a family therapist in the US. You can e-mail him at FamilyTherapist@iCloud. com Code Cracker is challenging, but fun. Each number in the grid represents a letter of the alphabet. For example, today 16 represents C, so fill in C every time the number 16 appears. You have 2 letters in the grid to start you off. Enter them into the main grid and then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Code Cracker does not always use all the letters of the alphabet.