NealH

I've been doing crosswords off and on since university back in the 1980s. I used to do the Guardian, but defected to the Independent a year ago. My solving standard is still not what I'd like. I'd love to be able to knock off a crossword in 10 minutes, but find I'm still getting stuck for long periods when the inspiration doesn't quite arrive. I once had a go at compiling crosswords but, after a very rude rejection for the editor of the Telegraph, I didn't bother any further.

Independent 11,152 by Knut

Mon July 11, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

This wasn't the most difficult Monday puzzle, but that wasn't really the point. The point was to poke a bit of fun at the now departing government of Boris Johnson.

Independent 11,134 by Filbert

Mon June 20, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

This was certainly the toughest Monday puzzle I've done in a long time. Had I not been blogging, I might well have given up half way through and in the end it took me three longish sessions to finish it.

Independent 11,116 by Angel

Mon May 30, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

This was mostly on the easy side, but a few required some thinking to work out the correct parsing.

Independent 11,098 by Alchemi

Mon May 9, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable puzzle where the bottom half seemed a little harder than the top.

Independent 11,080 by Tees

Mon April 18, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

An entertaining puzzle with a few that were tricky to parse.

Independent 11,062 by Italicus

Mon March 28, 2022 at 10:14 amMon March 28, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

The advance copy I received had a strange lack of spacing in some of the clues. I don't think that was deliberate, but one can never be sure with crossword setters.

Independent 11,044 by Skinny

Mon March 7, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

This was quite enjoyable and generally at the easier end of the spectrum.

Independent 11,026 by Filbert

Mon February 14, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this quite tough in places and stalled for a while on the north east corner.

Independent 11,008 by Tees

Mon January 24, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

Crosswords are sometimes written a few weeks before they are published and the themes can seem a little out-of-date by the time they appear.

Independent 10,990 by Alchemi

Mon January 3, 2022 at 9:00 am by NealH

This was mostly fairly easy but with a couple of stinkers.

Independent 10,973 by Radian

Mon December 13, 2021 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this quite tough and needed a couple of goes to finish.

Independent 10,955 by Angel

Mon November 22, 2021 at 9:00 am by NealH

One of those puzzles where it was mostly easy but I was left with 2 or 3 where I had all the crossing letters but was still struggling to think of the answers.

Independent 10,937 by Gila

Mon November 1, 2021 at 9:00 am by NealH

A cracking puzzle from Gila with lots of great clues. It was probably at the easier end of the spectrum, but did still need some thought in places.

Independent 10,919 by Filbert

Mon October 11, 2021 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this quite tough in places but the compensation came in the form of some excellent clues.