John

Born 1946. Since retiring (maths teacher) have spent an increasing amount of time on crosswords, something that was impossible before – am not in the sub-ten minutes league and probably never will be. Do The Times every day (more often than not in over half an hour), also an assortment of other puzzles. Have been doing Azed monthly for some years and entering his clue-setting competitions, occasionally with some success (I even won once, have had 36 VHCs and 138 HCs — yes, I keep a record, sad isn't it) but not enough for my liking. I've set a few crosswords: five in Oxford Today, a few on Derek Harrison's website, and five in The Independent, under the name Vernon. Also play a lot of chess and golf, although as I age I'm getting weaker at both.

Independent 8,428 by Phi

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Sorry this is on the late side. I always do the puzzle in the morning by downloading it from the site, but today for some reason my computer decided that its version of Java … Read more >>

Independent 8,414 by Dac

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The usual perfect offering from Dac. His anagram indicators are often very cleverly disguised, and in this crossword a certain amount of general knowledge is necessary. Definitions in italics. Across 1 Measure piece of … Read more >>

AZED 2,155

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As always.  It speaks for itself. I know it isn’t Sunday yet, but there is only just over an hour to go, so there shouldn’t be a problem. There won’t be any mail … Read more >>

Independent 8,404 by Phi

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The usual nice crossword from Phi, with plenty of the good clues you expect from him. Sorry this is a bit late, which it is for two reasons: although yesterday all was in … Read more >>

Independent 8,395 by Radian

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Puzzles with a lot of cross-referencing are not my favourite, but in this case the gateway clue was very easily solved. Then it was simply a matter of Googling this person and getting … Read more >>

Independent 8390 by Dac

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What can one say? As we get on most Wednesdays, a perfectly-formed creation. The structure of the clues is always deceptively simple, which leaves little room for argument. There are one or two here … Read more >>

Independent 8385/Donk

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Yesterday someone commented on the new kids on the block and said how well they are all doing, something with which I agree, and Donk is at the forefront of this group. Today’s … Read more >>

Independent 8380/Phi

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An extraordinarily small crossword from Phi today — just 22 clues — no easier than usual, but just as good. There were some hardly-known words and plenty of recourse to the dictionary, but even this … Read more >>

Azed 2149

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I’ve bitten the bullet and have provided the clues. It had always seemed to me to be unnecessary since anyone who has done the crossword must know what the clues are, but everyone … Read more >>

Independent 8366/Dac

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As Dac gives us week after week a well-nigh perfect crossword. I think it might have been said before, but the surfaces are repeatedly excellent — simple and pithy and creating a nice appropriate little … Read more >>

Independent 8361/Jambazi

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This was tough. Without use of the ‘Reveal letter’ button and yes, I must admit, on one or two occasions the ‘Reveal’ button itself, I doubt whether I’d have finished. Even the straightforward … Read more >>

Independent 8356/Phi

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Phi goes on and on producing these very pleasant crosswords. At the moment there are some here I simply can’t understand, but let’s hope that by the time I’ve finished doing the blog … Read more >>