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 surely never will be. Do The Times every day (more often than not in over half an hour), also an assortment of other puzzles. Did Azed monthly for some years and entered his clue-setting competitions, occasionally with some success (I even won once, had 38 VHCs and 140 HCs — yes, I kept 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 7115/Dac

Wed August 5, 2009 at 11:09 am by John

Apparently Dac’s recent Saturday crossword was quite tricky. He seems to have continued in the same vein here — this took me far longer than a normal Dac. The usual crop of very … Read more >>

Independent 7108/Virgilius

Tue July 28, 2009 at 1:02 pm by John

Although it is always a delight to blog a Virgilius crossword, my heart is for ever in my mouth because of the Nina: what a fool I’ll look when I don’t see it. … Read more >>

Independent 7103/Merlin

Wed July 22, 2009 at 12:22 pm by John

A rare departure from Wednesdays for Dac, but this Merlin offering is excellent. To begin with I found it very easy and it seemed that all would be done quickly by my standards, … Read more >>

Independent 7099/Phi

Fri July 17, 2009 at 12:22 pm by John

What one always gets from Phi — sound clueing, much of it very pleasing, a few complete anagrams, and the occasional musical reference (actually only one I think, unusually few). Across 5 A D JUST … Read more >>

Azed 1936/Sunday 5th July

Sun July 12, 2009 at 12:02 am by John

A very satisfactory Plain Azed with no particular features, merely the sound clueing that you would expect. Across 1 O F(FISH)LY 7 AMIS — the French for friends 10 REPOUSSAGE — (sea groups)* … Read more >>

Independent 7090/Tyrus

Wed July 8, 2009 at 12:27 amTue July 7, 2009 at 2:17 pm by John

Phew! I think that was about as difficult a crossword as I’ve ever done. After nearly an hour less than half of it was completed, so I resigned myself to the full panoply … Read more >>

Independent 7085/Dac

Wed July 1, 2009 at 12:45 pm by John

The usual high-class Dac puzzle, with as always a succession of natural and deceptively simple surfaces. Across 1 SNOWDRIFTS — (winds frost)* — frost? I suppose in the sense that snow itself is caused by a … Read more >>

Independent 7081/Phi

Fri June 26, 2009 at 1:05 pm by John

Before I solved 11ac it was hard to cope with all those clues that referred to it, but fairly soon that was all right, and there were no terribly obscure 11s. Although most … Read more >>

Independent 7072/Virgilius

Tue June 16, 2009 at 12:13 pm by John

As almost always with Virgilius, a beautiful production with an original and enjoyable theme. I think it’s simply 13dn, with 19dn, 5dn and 2dn appearing in the grid, and many of the answers … Read more >>

Independent 7067/Dac

Wed June 10, 2009 at 2:49 am by John

The usual excellent straightforward uncontroversial (I think) puzzle from Dac. Across 1 BA SIC 4 REP LI(CAT)E 9 I NEX(AC)T 10 IN SHORT — ref. Clare Short 11 FINE TWIST — obviously a … Read more >>

Independent 7060/Virgilius

Tue June 2, 2009 at 12:43 pm by John

Initially I thought that Virgilius had referred so frequently to Roman numerals that this was in some way the theme, but perhaps it’s just that in the Across clues he’s fitted many numbers … Read more >>

Independent 7057/Phi

Fri May 29, 2009 at 12:44 pm by John

I made a rather slow start on this typically pleasant Phi crossword, but when I saw that it was all As in the top unches and Zs at the bottom things became easier. … Read more >>

Azed 1929/Sunday 17th May

Sun May 24, 2009 at 12:02 am by John

A regular Azed plain, which means of course that there are some very nice clues, as well as one or two that I’m not quite sure about. I’m away this Whitsun weekend, so … Read more >>

Independent 7048/Virgilius

Tue May 19, 2009 at 12:46 pm by John

My delight in finding that I have to blog a Virgilius crossword is never total, for although there are bound to be some lovely clues I know that there will be some clever … Read more >>

Independent 7043/Dac

Wed May 13, 2009 at 12:42 pm by John

Dac as usual shows his mastery. One or two things I’m not quite sure about but it’s more likely to be me than him. Across 1 SCRAPHEAP — (car)* in (shape)* {dum}p — … Read more >>