Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I made little headway with the down clues but really got going on the across ones. After that it was a steady solve. I enjoyed this puzzle which was a typical Beam one with all his usual features. Continue reading “Toughie 2325”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Hola from a mostly dried out Vega Baja. If you’re wondering where I´ve been for the last few weeks I refer you to my last blog on 5th September where I said that the weather forecast for the next few days was looking a bit dodgy. Well, dodgy didn’t begin to cover it! On 12-13th September the Vega Baja and many other parts of the Communitat Valenciana experienced what turned out to be, and by quite some margin, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded. On the Vega Baja most of the irrigation canals overflowed, the Rio Segura broke its banks big time in Orihuela and at Algorfa the river´s retaining wall simply collapsed under the unprecedented weight of water, sending a sort of tidal wave into Almoradí. Widespread flooding was the result with the damage estimated in the billions of Euros. In El Saladar the water in the street rose to a depth of 1.2m and inside our house it was 73cm deep. As it´s a bungalow that means everywhere was flooded including the bedrooms. I missed it all as I was in the UK visiting the aged parent but I got back to Spain on the evening of 16th September to find that the village had been evacuated on the morning of the 13th and pommette was dossing at a friend´s apartment in a dry bit of Almoradì, with the three cats banged up in another friend’s conservatory. At least she´d got our new car and the cats out in time and a very helpful Guardia Civil chap had lifted her brand new mobility scooter onto a kitchen worktop so that it survived as well! It was Weds 18th before the water had receded enough to get back into the village and the contents of our house are pretty much a write-off. We spent the next three weeks staying in a borrowed holiday apartment while we started the drying out and clean-up operations. We’re back home now but I reckon it will be Xmas before we’re anything like straight. If you like horror movies look here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PT_8f3hjjo or key “floods Spain 2019” into YouTube.
Anyway, enough of my woes and on to today´s puzzle. I´m not sure of the setter but it´s not RayT as he’s in the Toughie slot today. I thought it a fairly benign but quite enjoyable puzzle, just right for my return to blogging duties.
Continue reading “DT 29196”
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This puzzle was published on 20th October 2019
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
As a blogger, you’d like to think that the setter would be reading your thoughts and possibly acting on some of them.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
Thanks to Messinae for a pleasant and fairly gentle puzzle. I would have given it two stars for difficulty but my struggle with 5d (see below) earned it an extra half star.… Continue reading
BD Rating – Difficulty **– Enjoyment ****
Kia ora from Aotearoa.
We’re back to the usual two-person household after a busy long weekend with family staying. Wonderful to have them all here, and our daughter’s birthday was celebrated in style.
Jay is the setter today of course, so we have a competently put-together fun puzzle once again.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Today not only does Atrica become our 26th setter to graduate to the national press with a puzzle in The Independent but also Serpent, known here as Skipjack, becomes our third graduate , after eXternal / proXimal and Silvanus, to join the ranks of Toughie setters. Continue reading “Toughie 2323”
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello everyone, and welcome to Tuesday. Today’s amusing puzzle features an above average number of cryptic definitions and it has a bit of a clothing theme running through it. I can’t deduce from that who our setter might be, so if they happen to be reading please post a comment below so we know who to thank for today’s entertainment. Continue reading "DT 29194"
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Well done England. Although the win was never in doubt I didn’t expect you to comprehensively outclass the New Zealand team by so much in every department. Roll on Saturday. Continue reading “DT 29193”
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg from where I am hoping that all UK (and EU) participants remembered to turn their clocks back one hour last night, over here, we don’t have to do that until next weekend, I think. … Continue reading