bridgesong

Born in 1947, I remember as a child tackling the Skeleton in my father’s Sunday Express before moving on to The Times at school with a classmate. For 20 years or so after leaving school I had no time for crosswords but started again in the 1980s, teaching myself to do Azed (with help from Don Manley’s Crossword Manual). Now retired after a career as a lawyer which culminated in appointment as a District Judge, I do the Guardian every Saturday, usually with my friend and neighbour Timon (who introduced me to fifteensquared). I also enter the Azed monthly competitions but have never done better than the very occasional VHC. More recently I have become a subscriber to the Magpie magazine and submit entries monthly, without yet winning a pen. My pseudonym comes from two of my other leisure interests, bridge and singing.

Guardian Christmas Special No 26,137 by Maskarade

Fri January 3, 2014 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

The setter of this year’s Guardian Christmas special is Maskarade, who does of course have a hard act to follow, the Christmas slot traditionally being allocated to Araucaria (I was fortunate also to … Read more >>

AZED 2,164 Playfair

Sun December 1, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

I admit to a slight feeling of trepidation when I opened my Observer last Sunday and noticed that it was a Playfair puzzle, knowing that it was my turn to blog. It’s almost … Read more >>

Guardian Prize Puzzle 26,113 by Paul

Sat November 30, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

My solving partner Timon and I knocked this off in under an hour, but once we had the long anagram the rest slotted into place without much difficulty. As usual, Paul demonstrates a … Read more >>

Guardian Prize Puzzle 26,089 by Biggles

Sat November 2, 2013 at 5:43 amSat November 2, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

This is the first puzzle by Biggles for over two years, if the search facility on fifteen squared is to be trusted (and I do trust it). As many may know, Biggles is … Read more >>

AZED No 2,158

Sun October 20, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

In this puzzle, which features a 13 by 11 grid, Azed gives us 3 long answers both across and down. The puzzle also includes a larger than usual number of 4 letter words, … Read more >>

Guardian Prize Puzzle 26,065 by Shed

Sat October 5, 2013 at 10:20 amSat October 5, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

A challenging puzzle from Shed that seemed at first to be on the easy side for a prize, but soon presented a real challenge. There were several anagrams or part anagrams in the … Read more >>

Guardian Prize Puzzle 26017 by Pasquale

Sat August 10, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

It was with some trepidation that I approached this puzzle. I don’t always find Pasquale’s puzzles that easy to solve, and what’s more I know that the Don reads blogs on this site. … Read more >>

Guardian Genius No 121 by Crucible

Sun August 4, 2013 at 1:01 am by bridgesong

This puzzle by Crucible used a device also to be found in the previous puzzle in this series by this setter, No 113 in November last year. A number of clues (19 in … Read more >>

Azed No 2146

Sun July 28, 2013 at 12:01 am by bridgesong

Some considerable subtlety on display this week, some of which may have eluded me. There are of course all the usual Azed features of obscure words, and ingenious clues, this week displayed in … Read more >>

Guardian Prize Puzzle No 25,993 by Crucible

Sat July 13, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

This is the first outing for Crucible in the prize slot for some while now, although this setter’s puzzles often feature in the Genius series. The feature of this puzzle was the omission … Read more >>

Azed No 2140

Sun June 16, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

A reasonably straightforward Azed this week, if perhaps a little harder than average. I have a couple of queries which will no doubt be resolved swiftly by the usual suspects. Across 1 FIG … Read more >>

Guardian Prize No 25,969 by Araucaria

Sat June 15, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

I found this to be a distinctly challenging puzzle, although I didn’t help myself by a stupid error which delayed my solving of 26 across, the key to the theme. There seemed to … Read more >>

Azed No 2134

Sun May 5, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

The usual mix of obscure words and Ximenean clues, although I have a couple of minor queries which I’m sure others can resolve. A crossword notable for three different ways of cluing the … Read more >>

Guardian Prize Puzzle No 25,921 by Araucaria

Sat April 20, 2013 at 7:14 amSat April 20, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

There are two mini=themes in this puzzle, brought together at 20,21. One is the Shakespearean quotation, and the other is the centenary of the crossword. I solved this one on the plane to … Read more >>

Azed No 2128

Sun March 24, 2013 at 6:23 amSun March 24, 2013 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

A reasonably straightforward plain puzzle this week, but I do have a couple of quibbles about the cluing, and one where I may not have understood the wordplay at all, so suggestions are … Read more >>