duncanshiell

Born in 1948. I retired from full-time work in May 2007, after 37 years with Ordnance Survey and associated bodies and now have time to devote to crosswords, something not available for many years. Product of 17 years in the Scottish education system, but lived overseas or in southern England for virtually all of the time thereafter. I moved back to Scotland in 2010. Regular road runner and recently returned to orienteering and golf after a 35 year gap. Developed interested in cryptic crosswords in the mid 1960s (Scotsman, Sunday Express skeleton), but working overseas and then raising a family, meant dropping out of crossword solving for about 30 years. Now a regular solver of Times, Guardian, Independent, Inquisitor, Listener and Magpie crosswords. Reasonably regular finisher of the first four. Started blogging in late 2007. Any solving ability far outweighs any clueing ability. Krypton Factor contestant 1983; eliminated in the first round, but the obstacle course finish made good television!

Inquisitor 1161 – Nicknames by Ifor – Saturday 23rd January 2011

Wed February 2, 2011 at 12:10 am by duncanshiell

Ifor is a new compiler for the Inquisitor but he has had four crosswords published in The Magpie and one published in the Telegraph Enigmatic Variations series, all in the last two years. I … Read more >>

Guardian 25,233 / Rufus

Mon January 31, 2011 at 8:17 am by duncanshiell

This was a fairly standard puzzle from Rufus that will no doubt divide the solving community along the usual lines. As ever, from Rufus, there were a number of clues based on cryptic … Read more >>

Independent 7574 / Mordred

Tue January 25, 2011 at 10:55 am by duncanshiell

I’m an emergency stand-in today, so apologies for the slight delay in posting. I’m not a regular daily Independent solver – I tend to get The Independent on Saturday for the Inquisitor (which … Read more >>

Independent 7560 by Bannsider (Saturday Prize Puzzle 8 January 2011)

Sat January 15, 2011 at 12:05 am by duncanshiell

Another very satisfying crossword from Bannsider. As usual the wordplay is very precise, even although it takes me a while to work it all out. The entry that took me the longest time … Read more >>

Guardian 25,219 / Brendan

Fri January 14, 2011 at 9:34 amFri January 14, 2011 at 8:29 am by duncanshiell

Seeing the word KING in every across clue made me think back to Bonxie’s rather difficult puzzle of last week when LEFT began all the Down clues and four of the Across clues. … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1157 – Please… by Eddie – 18 December 2010

Wed January 5, 2011 at 9:41 amWed January 5, 2011 at 12:01 am by duncanshiell

The preamble stated that the first words of a traditional verse are spelled out by single extra letters generated by the wordplay in each down clue, in order. The perimeter (clockwise, in which … Read more >>

Guardian 25201 / Araucaria

Thu December 23, 2010 at 9:24 amThu December 23, 2010 at 8:46 am by duncanshiell

I like to work though all the clues first to see how many I can solve cold. As the first clue I solved in this puzzle was 25d, I thought this was going … Read more >>

Guardian 25,193 / Puck

Tue December 14, 2010 at 8:40 am by duncanshiell

Uncle Yap commented yesterday that he is currently in Sri Lanka and may not have access to an internet terminal, so a substitute blogger takes the Guardian spot today. We have still got snow on … Read more >>

Independent 7525 (Saturday Prize Puzzle 27 November 2010) by Bannsider

Sat December 4, 2010 at 12:05 am by duncanshiell

I am a fan of complex wordplay rather than cryptic definitions, so I always find Bannsider’s puzzles stimulating . There were some excellent wordplay examples here – e.g. EGGS BENEDICT although I have some … Read more >>

Guardian 25182 / Shed

Wed December 1, 2010 at 12:46 pmWed December 1, 2010 at 8:33 am by duncanshiell

Well, I learnt a new word today, at 2 down, having toyed with TRIBALISM, thinking BALI was the island, before deciding I couldn’t make it fit the word play. There is no doubt that … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1153 – Cross Purposes by Nutmeg (Saturday 20 November)

Wed December 1, 2010 at 12:05 am by duncanshiell

The preamble told us that clashes in the grid must be resolved (producing some non-words in the process) to display the name of a man of note for whom 2010 is an anniversary, … Read more >>

Guardian 25,162 / Rufus

Mon November 8, 2010 at 4:27 pmMon November 8, 2010 at 8:08 am by duncanshiell

From today, there is a slight change to the Guardian blogger team, with a three week cycle for most bloggers, except Uncle Yap who continues as a Tuesday regular. I’ve blogged quite a … Read more >>

Independent Saturday Prize Puzzle 7501 by Phi – Saturday 30 October 2010

Sat November 6, 2010 at 12:05 am by duncanshiell

Phi was hard at work in the Independent last Saturday. He compiled the Inquisitor as well as the Saturday Prize Puzzle. I found this a slightly easier puzzle than many of Phi’s previous offerings. … Read more >>

Inquisitor 1148 – Trial by Schadenfreude – 16 October 2010

Wed October 27, 2010 at 9:19 amWed October 27, 2010 at 12:05 am by duncanshiell

The preamble told us that one letter or word must be removed from each clue before it can be solved. In clue order the removals provide a quotation related to an event which … Read more >>

Guardian Genius 87 by Lavatch

Sun October 3, 2010 at 4:54 amSun October 3, 2010 at 12:05 am by duncanshiell

Six months have passed, so it must be my turn to blog a Guardian Genius again. I have solved one or two Lavatch puzzles in The Listener so I knew this would … Read more >>