Crossword News 16 June 2010

I have recently come across a lovely little book of crosswords by Castila. Castila has been producing puzzles for the monthly magazine 1 Across for some years and has now published a collection of 30 previously unpublished puzzles. They are all thematic, mainly blocked but also some barred grids and unusual grids. I intend to take my copy on my holidays for some gentle fun on the beach.

Castila is Clare Windsor, a retired advertising illustrator. She explains her reasons for publishing thus. “The magazine 1 Across publishes my puzzles at the rate of about three a year, but my compiling rate (though not large) does exceed this. It occurred to me that I could well be dead before many of my crosswords saw the light of day! I determined to publish a book myself, knowing I had the skills to undertake its design and preparation for print. Hence Cryptic Crosswords by Castila.

Tom Johnson, of 1 Across and Crossword Editor of the Spectator, has said: “Castila’s clueing style is crisp, clear and concise.” However, I’ve no idea where my puzzles sit in the difficulty ratings. My intention is to gently fox solvers, rather than to treat them as adversaries. I also endeavour not to use words (unless circumstances absolutely demand it) that the average solver won’t have heard of – personally I find no joy in struggling with crosswords that require constant reference to a dictionary.”

The UK price of the Castila book is £5.50, including postage and packing (Europe £7.00, rest of world £8.50).

To order, send your name and address with a cheque (made out to Clare Windsor) to Clare Windsor, 15 Tuesley Corner, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1TB.
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Last month’s Prize Puzzle was Institution by Samuel. As many people guessed, this gave me a huge and pleasant surprise when I tested it. However, one solver suggested that it was a bit “incestuous”. The theme was, indeed, the Crossword Centre. Extra letters in wordplay gave “two million hits”. The unclued entries were all associated with the site and included some frequent posters on the message board. These were, DEREK HARRISON, THE MONDAY MOAN, GEORGIE (Johnson) , DON (Manley), TREVOR (Crowther) and RODDY (Forman). The final touch was to change one letter to give the word CROSSWORD in the CENTRE of the grid.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.
“I thoroughly enjoyed solving this puzzle.  Samuel is now an excellent and prodigious setter.”
“As always with Samuel, very tightly clued, quite a lot of hard but enjoyable work, good thematic content and a satisfying conclusion.”
“Samuel is to be congratulated for providing us with a very entertaining and challenging crossword and to you reaching this huge milestone.”

There were 42 correct entries. The lucky winners, picked from the hat, were David Howell and Andy Wallace, who will soon be receiving their prize of a copy of The Daily Mail Pub Quiz Book, which has been donated by the publishers.

This month’s prize puzzle is Stars of the 20s by Egallus. This seems to be a very accessible puzzle and I have already received 22 correct entries. You have until the 8th July to send me your entry.

I can promise you a real challenge next month with a rather more testing puzzle!
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Castila told me that it was very difficult to sell crossword books and I can confirm this. When I published the Afrit book last year there was an initial rush for copies but since then orders have fallen to about one a month! However, it is still nice to see that the book is well received by perceptive critics. There is a nice review of Afrit’s Armchair Crosswords from Shuchi on his crossword blog at http://www.crosswordunclued.com/2010/05/afrits-armchair-crosswords.html

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By the way, I can thoroughly recommend the magazine 1 Across, especially if you appreciate the genius of Araucaria. 1 Across (based in Richmond, England) is a monthly magazine for cryptic crossword enthusiasts, with the emphasis on Guardian-style puzzles. It offers 5 original crosswords each month, usually of the blocked grid variety, many with a thematic element. Two puzzles are by Araucaria, the rest by other Guardian setters, or guest setters such as  Mr Magoo and Phi. One puzzle has an "out of the hat" prize and you're encouraged to send in comments on all the puzzles.
1 Across is edited by Tom Johnson who is the crossword editor at The Spectator and compiles under the pseudonyms Doc, Didymus and Gozo. The editorial articles attempt to cover as many aspects of the crossword world as possible, and are often inspired by correspondence from subscribers.
1 Across welcomes previously unpublished puzzles from new and budding compilers, as well as from established ones.
Subscription rates for the current  (27th) year are  30 pounds sterling for UK/BFPO members, 32 pounds for European members and 34 pounds for other overseas members.
For full details and a free sample issue write with a C5 (6.4" x 9") SAE for reply to:
1 Across
The Old Chapel
Middleton Tyas
RICHMOND
North Yorkshire DL10 6PP
United Kingdom
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Our clue-writing competition is going from strength to strength. Now that World Cup fever is gripping…well, the World, here is a special competition to enable us to join in the celebrations!

Your task is to clue any "double" word of 6 or more letters. By this I mean a word that is made up of two identical halves, e.g. PAWPAW, GEE-GEE, COUSCOUS, DIVIDIVI, QUINAQUINA, etc.,etc. – there is quite a wide choice for you.

Your clue should be a standard crytpic, with a definition of your chosen word, BUT THE SUBSIDIARY INDICATION MUST ONLY LEAD TO ONE HALF OF THE WORD – you can choose which half ;0)

In addition, your clue should contain an extra word that would need to be removed before solving, which starts with the same letter as your chosen clue word. This is intended to help with the final requirement (!) – that the surface reading of the clue should have a football flavour.

If this is all becoming a little complicated, here is a simple (and feeble) example of what is required.

Chosen clue word: MURMUR

Coo, Maradona is getting spirit back (6)

Explanation: extra word is "Maradona", leaving coo=murmur/"rum" reversed.

Please write your explanation in the following format to help with the judging:
MURMUR: Maradona: rum rev.
To enter this competition go to http://www.andlit.org.uk/cccwc/main.php
Everyone on this mailing list can enter. The list is at a record high of 1032.

Best wishes
Derek