Category: Gaston (EV)

Enigmatic Variations 1627 (Hints)

The Missing Link by Gaston

Hints and tips by Phibs

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I cannot see the phrase ‘missing link’ without thinking of an episode in Jennings’ Diary, one of the series of wonderful school stories by Anthony Buckeridge. For Jennings, it represents the prized cuff link lost by Mr Wilkins which prompts him to note ‘Mr Wilkins – missing link’ in his diary. For the somewhat irascible Mr Wilkins, who chances to read this entry, it unfortunately conjures up ‘a picture of a sub-human anthropoid monster, swinging among the tree-tops in some dark prehistoric era.’ I wonder whether this puzzle will involve any flapping cuffs or simian species from the Great Chain of Being.

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Enigmatic Variations 1607 (Hints)

Eightsomes by Gaston

Hints and tips by Phibs

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This is my first encounter with Gaston, whom I initially thought might be so named because of a resemblance to the character in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, one of the ’13 Reflections of Evil’. Slightly disturbed by that idea, I preferred to believe that the pseudonym might reflect a happy association with La Belle France, or a particular affection for Gigi (ah yes, I remember it well).

However, I learn from the Editor that Gaston has already revealed himself in the Setter’s Blog for EV 1458 – it turns out that he is not a setter, rather a cocker spaniel who (assisted by his ‘partner in crime’, Rémy) is apparently not averse to introducing a French theme to his puzzles. Let’s hope that il fait plus de bruit que de mal…

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