The annual lunch for Times setters is taking place on 30th May and this will be followed by a Sloggers and Betters get-together in The Town of Ramsgate (62 Wapping High Street E1) from 4:30pm onwards. All welcome.

Just to update you on events for next week.

The venue for the meet Bramsche Bar is now booked and tables reserved.  The new menus should be on the website  (http://www.bramsche.co.uk/) and they are looking forward to meeting everyone.  We’ll be there from about 11:30.   There’s an interesting Wetherspoons called The White Hart just around the corner if you are early, or you could take in the Market or some of the other sights.  energetic people may wish to go and climb Stoodley Pike, or stroll along the canal.

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After last week’s live chat with Arachne/Anarche, this week it’s the turn of John Henderson (aka Enigmatist/Nimrod/Io/Elgar). The session will be from 1pm to 3pm tomorrow (23rd March). On Saturday, the Guardian Open Weekend event includes Paul/Punk/Mudd in conversation with crossword editor Hugh Stephenson and Araucaria/Cinephile talking to Sandy Balfour. See Alan Connor’s blog announcement.

The last ten days have been very busy, and very enjoyable, for me, and so many people have taken time and effort to make it so. From the February 18th surprise party at my local pub, to a family gathering last weekend in a Derbyshire farmhouse, via a reception at the Guardian on the Eve of my 80th birthday, I have been taken by surprise by the tremendous warmth and friendliness of people in the crossword world.

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I have uploaded three new sets of photos to Flickr:

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I’m sure you will all join me in wishing Mr Squires a very Happy Birthday. A splendid poetic tribute from Araucaria can be found here on the CCMB.

Thanks for all the interest in the next S&B do to be held in Todmorden.  Unfortunately I have had to move it back a week due to venue problems and it will now be held on  Saturday 21st April.  Hope you can make it.  As previously mentioned, if you are travelling from farther afield I am happy to help find accommodation.

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Hi,

Just putting the feelers out to see if there is enough interest in meeting up somewhere in Ireland. Having been at the one in Birmingham last summer and having a great time.

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I am posting this on behalf of Alan Connor, who writes the crossword blog in the Guardian. Rufus’s 80th birthday is coming up very soon (next week, in fact). If you love Rufus (or Dante etc) puzzles (perhaps because they gave you a way in to cryptic crosswords), here’s your chance to put your appreciation on record as part of a birthday tribute:

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The Magpie is a subscription-only crossword magazine that publishes thematic cryptics of the sort found in the Enigmatic Variations, Inquisitor and Listener series. The difficulty level varies from a little above that of a daily cryptic through to the more extreme end of The Listener spectrum. Each month there are five crosswords spanning this range and one numerical puzzle. The Magpie is delivered as a PDF though there is an option for a posted paper copy.

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Anax is trying to get some feedback as to what people think about the level of difficulty of the Sunday cryptics. To this end he has added a poll to his website. It only requires you to select one answer from four so please take a minute or two to pay his site a visit: Anax Poll.

I am happy to organise a Northern gathering and would suggest Saturday 14th April. In an effort to boost my local economy, I am suggesting using the Bramsche Bar on Rochdale Road in Todmorden (there’s a nice Wetherspoons for early birds) and a meal at The Vedas, the Cotton Mill or the Thai Restaurant afterwards.

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… I would like to extend my thanks to all those involved with Fifteensquared and to the crossword community in general.

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A short while ago I received an unexpected delivery. On opening the parcel I found a bottle of The Famous Gaufrid (my favourite non-single malt tipple!). The label on the back of the bottle reads “Thanks for all your wit and wisdom, and for all you do to keep us all – bloggers, setters and commenters – happy.”

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I arrived rather late, because I am suffering with a dental abscess (don’t try it at home), but still managed to take a few photos:

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From Kathryn Friedlander and Philip Fine at the University of Buckingham:

In 2010/11 we invited a number of crossword solvers to take part in recorded trials at Buckingham, during which they solved a cryptic crossword while commenting on their progress out loud. This crossword has been published today in the Independent newspaper as ‘Cryptic Crossword 7385 by Phi’.

In order to gain a richer understanding of the particular dynamics of this puzzle, we are inviting comments on it from all solvers who tackled the published version on or shortly after Friday 25th November 2011.

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There’s a nice interview with Roger Squires, aka Rufus and Dante, on Shuchi’s Crossword Unclued blog.

Only a couple of weeks to go now before the Sloggers and Betters lunch at Waterfall in Derby on Saturday 26th November, so just an update for everyone who’s indicated they’re coming, and a chance for anyone who still fancies attending to let me know.

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Some more photos of crossword-related events:

Hamilton Hall, Liverpool Street, Saturday 29 October 2011:
October 2011

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Five years ago today (1/11/2006) the first blog appeared on Fifteensquared. It was for Guardian 23,910 by Janus and was written by neildubya, the founder of this site. So, what have we achieved since then?

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I was sorry to learn from Hugh Stephenson’s latest newsletter that Shirley O’Brien, aka Auster of the Guardian, died on 12 July at the age of 79. There’s an obituary from the Brisbane Courier-Mail here. Thanks to her, some of us here will never forget the expression “hump the bluey“. RIP

Following a three-line whip from Eileen, I am trying to organise another Midlands get-together for crossword aficionados.  Following the Brum Bash that Anax and Jayne organised, we’ll be having another Derby Day.

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Those of you who would like to see how Arachne/Anarche spends her spare time, and perhaps help her to achieve her goal regarding support for a good cause, should visit www.pageant.org.uk/sarah.htm where there is some interesting reading.

Yesterday (20 August 2011) a group of crossword addicts went to the ‘office’ used by the late Mike Laws — The Springfield Park Tavern, in Bounds Green, north London — to present two framed tributes which will be hung above the corner he made his own. In the background to the presentation, you can see the Chambers used by Mike when he was at work.

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Thanks for the feedback. It seems that comments can be viewed on some iPhones but not others. By coincidence, another WPtouch update was released today (4th Aug) and I have just installed it (circa 1800 BST). I also altered one or two of the settings but these should not affect the display of comments.

Please let me know via a comment below if the problem has been resolved by this latest update. If it hasn’t I will pursue the matter further.

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