June 2nd, 2009
We’re having great weather in the UK just now - no idea how long it’ll last. A lot of people are heading to the beach, and what better place to get down to a challenging cryptic crossword than by the sea!
I’ve been inside writing about systems for improving your memory, and I’ll put some more information about that on this site shortly … keep ‘em peeled! But now that’s done it’s time to Note slapdash 80s number 1 (5).
Filed under: Cryptic crosswords by admin
No Comments »
April 12th, 2009
Very funny, hang on till the end of this Two Ronnies sketch …
Filed under: Cryptic crosswords by admin
No Comments »
April 12th, 2009
Just back from a few days in the Alps turning from beginner to improving snowboarder. I had a couple of big wipe outs: one was an elegant somersault and the other left me poleaxed and needing rescuing by handsome Italians and a snowmobile.
So I apologise to everyone if I’m not quite feeling myself this week, it did knock the stuffing out of me. And I can’t WAIT to go back! Am persuading younger brother (author of the fantastic Tozzer strip) to come with me next year.
Filed under: Holidays by admin
No Comments »
January 18th, 2009
… but one that made us feel uneasy:
Creator of romance in politics (7)
Filed under: Cryptic crosswords, Favourite clues by Julia
1 Comment »
January 18th, 2009
Battled through Saturday’s Araucaria from the Guardian - when I say battled, the main problem was with not knowing that ‘trope‘ is a figure of speech. Even with my clever-clever masters’ degree in Applied Linguistics I had never heard of a trope. So this clearly demonstrates once again that cryptic crosswords are much easier than standard puzzles. Given the crytic clue it became clear that there the word had to exist.Well the clue was ‘River reduced into drink (figure of speech) … ‘ - what else could it be?
For my favourite clue (and the one that made us slightly ill), look at the ‘favourite clues’ section!
Filed under: Cryptic crosswords by Julia
No Comments »
January 17th, 2009
I have no idea how I managed this one:
Onu (10,14)
(diminished responsibility)
Not a moral man, unfit for public office (6,6)
(Norman Lamont)
Filed under: Cryptic crosswords, Favourite clues by admin
4 Comments »
January 17th, 2009
For some time now I’ve been planning a guide to solving cryptic crosswords - there is such a deliberate air of mystery around these puzzles that many people are put off trying them out. I’m not a fan of exclusivity, and the reactions I get from people when I say that I’m a crossword compiler are extraordinary. You do not have to be amazingly intelligent to solve crosswords, as long as you know the rules behind them.
I worked out all these rules for myself, but it is a game that anyone can play!
Watch this space for news on my crossword-solving ebook.
Filed under: Cryptic crosswords by admin
No Comments »
January 15th, 2009
Here are me and some of my family (Susie, Graham and George) at the New Years bash at the Hyatt in Sharm el-Sheikh. Fantastic chance to dress up, and it’s the first time I’ve gone out on a proper New Year’s bash for more than a decade! But as I’d just finished a mammoth collaboration with Lenna in Spain using text messages to finish this year’s devilish Guardian puzzle, I thought I deserved it … !
Filed under: Holidays by admin
No Comments »
December 20th, 2008
I have written a number of crosswords, both concise and cryptic. In my concise crosswords, the meaning of the clues is obvious, the clues are straight. Tthe crosswords I write are cryptic crosswords, and I have included a couple of examples:
I wrote the puzzle below as a “quiptic” crossword, for the Guardian website. Quiptic crosswords are a simple version of a cryptic crossword. For more examples of crosswords, visit the Guardian crossword page. The Guardian crossword site is subsciption-only.
Download the puzzle here pinkie-cryptic-feb01.pdf - and if you’re stumped contact me for the answers!
The next puzzle is a crossword designed for the Institute of Financial Sevices newsletter.
Download the puzzle here pinkie-cryptic-spring06.pdf- and once more you can ask me for the answers!
Have fun - and once again I’d love to hear your comments
Filed under: Cryptic crosswords by Julia
No Comments »
December 20th, 2007
This is a handy place to store things like attempts to learn some Flash skills a few years ago. I made a nice little push-button chart illustrating the phonemes of Arabic, as I was thinking of chucking it all in and getting out to the Emirates. I ended up staying in Blighty and never did learn Arabic, but I still have this example of probably the only bit of Flash I ever built from scratch.
On a slightly less virtuous note, I have an addiction to Star Trek: The Next Generation. I have all of them on DVD (in seven nice shiny pods), but find it very difficult to find particular episodes as the indexing is so poor. So I built this. With links. And a star rating. Was gong to add more elements to the table, may do that one day when I’m at a loose end - but don’t hold your breath!
Filed under: Language by admin
2 Comments »
