John's Walks 2021 Updated....

...to the end of June 2021. See here. Please let me know using this link of any broken or erroneous links or other errors here (or in other pages). It's a bit of a fiddly job that is prone to error as the Blogger editor is not that helpful.

Hasbean #4

My fourth special coffee has arrived, but I need to finish the coffee in the tin before I can open it. Interesting description. I look forward to tasting it. Thank-you again Kirsty and David.

Orwell Challenge Walk 2021

Today I did the Orwell Challenge walk for the 3rd time. In 2019 and 2018 I did the full 25 miles route. Would I do the longest route again? I wasn't sure as I headed down the A14 towards the start. In the end I did the full distance...

Solving with Verlaine

One of my crossword-solving acquaintances, who blogs in TimesfortheTimes  under the name Verlaine, is one of the top solvers, coming 2nd in the Times Crossword Championships in 2019, as I reported here. He has recently taken to videoing himself as he solves.

Elderflower Cordial

On a recent walk we passed some lovely fresh elderflower heads and  Joyce challenged me to make a non-alcoholic drink. So, on our Long Melford walk on Wednesday, I took a bag and my secateurs to harvest some elderflowers.

Norton Sunset Walk

Last night we had an evening walk from Norton. This was the invite.

"We are risking a Sunset walk this Thursday evening (24th June)  from Norton Village and heading to the villages of Hunston and Langham. We have permission to park at Norton Church, Church Lane, Norton Suffolk IP31 3NB. We will be ready to walk at 6.30pm and be done by 9.30pm. The walk is about 7 miles. There is some quiet road walking and field walking. We are walking by Hunston Church, Langham Church and Norton Church. Some wide paths and Suffolk scenery and (hopefully) a setting sun. The next couple of days look dry but expect some muddy parts and long grass. Please bring a snack. The Norton Dog pub is a great pub if that appeals to you...meal/drinks before or after." 

Sichuan Mouthwatering Chicken

 

Yesterday, I decided to try one of The Spicery kits I got for Fathers' Day - the Sichuan Mouthwatering Chicken with Smashed Cucumber.

Long Melford Walk

Today it was Steve's turn to lead a walk for the group. This was the invite.

"Wednesday June 23rd Steve will be leading a 10 mile walk from Long Melford. Meet 10am at free car park next to Long Melford Old School Community Centre CO10 9DX. Toilets & drinks at start / end, but none on route. Walk goes via Kentwell Hall, Glemsford, Foxearth Meadows Nature Reserve, Foxearth, haunted Borley and Liston Mill . Lovely views. Picnic lunch needed. " 

Mount Road Wild Flowers

 As I noted here in June last year, someone has again been labelling in chalk on the footpath up mount road from town what you can see in the wild flower verge. The rain in the last few days washed the chalk away, but I still stopped on my way to the dentist yesterday to take a couple of photos...

Fathers' Day

 Look what I got!

Norton Walk

Today we did a walk from Norton - a mere 6 miles from home and just over 10 minutes by car for me.

This was the invite from Joyce.

"Sunday June 20th.  A walk based on Anna McGowan's suggestion (Thank you Anna). We have permission to park at Norton Village Hall, 4 Ixworth Road, IP31 3LE. It's an early start: Pls be ready to walk at 8.30am. We will head to Pakenham , Stowlangtoft and who knows where else....mileage is approx. 10.50 miles. It’s Fathers Day so we will finish walk by 1.30pm. The Dog Pub is a good place for a drink afterwards."

Needham Market Walk

Today we did a repeat of this Needham Market walk we did a few weeks ago.This was the invite from Joyce.

"Saturday June 19th.  A glorious walk that is worth repeating. Please park and meet at Needham Lakes free car park (toilets here too). IP6 8AU is the postcode I can find. Our start time is 10am. We will head towards Barking Church, and then to Baylham church for lunch stop (toilet here) , Darmsden and Pipps Ford. Lots of great views on this walk and the River Gipping at the beginning and end. Mileage is 9.75 miles." 

Jumbo Crossword

Times Cryptic Jumbo 1502 - 5th June

I thought this at the gentler end of difficulty for a Jumbo, taking just over 35 minutes. It did take me a while to get properly going, though, solving only 6 across clues on the first pass. For once, I didn't encounter any real stumbling blocks - there is usually at least a couple of words that are new to me and I get stuck on, although I had to check that 19A was a real word to convince myself I'd got it right. A generous smattering of really good clues kept me entertained to the end of solving... and writing the blog. In particular I enjoyed 44A, my second from last one in (22D was my last) and the  two 2-word &lits : 56A and the triple definition 6d - my clue of the day. Nice one! Thank-you setter for the fun. How did everyone else like it?

( Read all about it... )

Cows About Cambridge - MooMoo-o-Tron III from Dinky Doors

Visiting Cambridge with Kirsty and David yesterday (see here), we sought out some of the Dinky Doors. I remembered them telling me they were making a cow for Cows About Cambridge and checked out on them today, where I found this...

A Not So Quick Crossword from Orpheus

Times Quick Cryptic No 1899 by Orpheus

Oh dear. I came a bit of a cropper with this one, getting stuck on my last clue (1A) and having to resort to a wordfinder to finish. I can't remember the last time I had to do that for a Quick Cryptic. Apart from that I was all but done in an average time, although there are some other clues that are a bit tricky too. I don't think we will see any PBs today, but I'll be pleased to be proved wrong. Some nice clues, though, with my COD vote going to the sweaty sportswoman at 6A. Thank-you Orpheus. How did you all get on?

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is Phil's turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the latest crossword here. Enjoy! And if anyone is interested in our previous offerings you can find an index to them here.

( Read all about it... )

A Cambridge Meander

I met up with Kirsty and David again today. We met once more at the St. Ives Park & Ride, but took the guided busway to Cambridge for the day. This was our approximate route, after we got there, although my tracker was playing up a bit with the rainy weather, particularly while we were stopped for coffee and lunch where it shows a big squiggle each time.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 27 - by Phil Jordan

Click here to read about the origin of this series of crosswords.

A brief history of the origins of these crosswords for those who are new to them. As a blogger of the Times Quick Cryptic Crossword on Times For The Times every other Friday, I have often had comments on the blog bemoaning that The Times only provides a Quick Cryptic on Mondays to Fridays. When I finally gave up work at the end of February 2020, I decided that I would try my hand at compiling crosswords. It was with some trepidation that I published, in May 2020, the first of these Weekend Quick Cryptics to fill the gap. Well it seemed to go down well so I did another. And then my fellow crossword solver and commenter on Time for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too! So now we alternate, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

This time it is Phil's turn to provide the fortnightly weekend quick cryptic crossword. You can try and solve it interactively here on MyCrossword or here on crossword.info, or download a PDF to print here. Alternatively you can copy and print the image below. Comments and queries welcome here or with the solution post here. I will respond to them as soon as I can.

St. Ives Walk

 

It was nearly 18 months since I'd seen them, but my sister Kirsty and her husband David were staying in their camper van at Grafham Water for a few nights, so I arranged to meet up with them for a couple of the days. Today we did the St.Ives and Hemingfords walk that I had enjoyed so much in July 2019 (you can read about that here). No regatta today and Holt island was closed but it was still a lovely walk.

Clare Walks

Today it was my turn to lead walks for Joyce's Weekly Walking group. This was the invite...

"Monday June 14th . John will be leading a two-part walk from Clare Castle Country Park,  Malting Lane, Clare - postcode CO10 8NW. Parking charges of £2 for the day apply at the car park there. The morning walk (10am) will be the popular Clare to Cavendish and back walk of about 7 miles. Following a packed lunch (please bring your own) al fresco at the country park, in the afternoon (1pm) there will be an extra loop to Stoke-by-Clare of a similar distance. Feel free to do one or both walks – meet to start walking at 10am for the morning walk or 1pm for the afternoon. No need to book, but if you are joining for the afternoon it would be helpful to know you will be coming – please let John know via email"

Felsham Walk

We are having a short visit from William at the moment. He came down from York to help Nina's family move house on Friday and has come on to us this morning before returning to York tomorrow for the last 3 weeks of term. So it was a first roast dinner for him since before the start of term and, despite the heat and the pollen count being very high, he wanted to go for a walk. I decided a shorter version of this walk I did in the wind from Felsham via Bradfield Woods would do the trick.

Faster!!!

My BT TV package had expired and the price had gone up. But to change to a new package I need to commit to another 2 years broadband contract. Although I was quite happy with the speed of 30-40Mbps we were getting, I was already paying a lot more for that than current rates. I phoned them up, and they offered me full-fibre broadband with a speed of at least 100Mbps and up to 150Mbps for nearly £20 a month less than I was already paying - they had to offer me the same deal as for new customers.

Stutton, Holbrook and Alton Water Walk

Today it was Roland's turn to lead a walk for Joyce's walking group. It was a repeat of the walk he led during the Spring mini Walking Festival. I was sorry to have missed it then, so was glad of another opportunity.

Clare Walks Recce

Today I did a recce of the walks I will be leading from Clare on Monday, based on these we did in June last year, which are, in turn, based on  Circular Walk 5 and Circular Walk 3 from the excellent  Clare Walks collection. I did the Stoke-by-Clare loop in the morning  and the Cavendish loop in the afternoon. Boy was it hot!

Strawberries

This year our tree-trunk planter is host to some strawberry plants.

Sheringham Park Walk

It was the last day of the half-term holidays today and I thought I'd take Dawn on a day out to visit the rhododendrons at Sheringham Park and do the wonderful walk I did with friends at the beginning of June 2019 (see here), which you can find on the National Trust site here. I managed to book us a parking slot a couple of weeks ago for 10:30 to 11 and we arrived just a few minutes early. We left our picnic stuff in the car and went straight onto the walk.

The Anytime Daffodil Dawdle

 

With the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions the Norfolk and Suffolk LDWA group were unable to pout on their Daffodil Dawdle challenge walk as usual (and as I had done with Jane 2 years ago - see here). Instead, it was provided as an "anytime walk" with route and instructions downloadable from the website. Well I didn't walk it while the daffodils were blooming, but Joyce suggested we use it as a practice walk for the Orwell Challenge at the end of the month.

Another Tracy Quick Crossword

Times Quick Cryptic No 1889 by Tracy

I thought this a decent middle-of-the-road Quick Cryptic from the dependable Tracy to end the week, although I found a couple of the surfaces a little clunky. It helps if you know your flowers, European capitals and African republics, but the wordplay is helpful for those and there's nothing out of the ordinary, I think. I enjoyed the out of place airman best and finished in about an average time for me of 5:08. Thanks Tracy. How did everyone else get on?

Update: Apologies for the wrong number. Now fixed.

Fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic. This time it is my turn to provide the extra weekend entertainment. You can find the latest crossword, number 26, entitled "Alphabet Soup", here. Enjoy! And if anyone is interested in our previous offerings you can find an index to them here.

( Read all about it... )

U3A Dalham Walk

I've been meaning to join a walk with the U3A Bury St. Edmunds longer walks group for some time. They walk on the first Thursday of the month, generally walking between 9 and 15 miles.  Now I'm retired, I'm no longer at work on Thursdays but the first walk I was going to go on got cancelled because of COVID lockdown and I couldn't make the last two, in April and May, due to diary clashes. But today I joined 5 others in the group for a great walk from Dalham and was made most welcome.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 26 - Alphabet Soup by Johninterred

Click here to read about the origin of this series of crosswords.

A brief history of the origins of these crosswords for those who are new to them. As a blogger of the Times Quick Cryptic Crossword on Times for The Times every other Friday, I have often had comments on the blog bemoaning that The Times only provides a Quick Cryptic on Mondays to Fridays. When I finally gave up work at the end of February last year, I decided that I would try my hand at compiling crosswords. It was with some trepidation that I published, in May, the first of these Weekend Quick Cryptics to fill the gap. Well it seemed to go down well so I did another. And then my fellow crossword solver and commenter on Times for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too! So now we alternate, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

This time it is my turn to provide the fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword. As is hinted at by the title, there is a bit of a theme. There is also a related puzzle within the puzzle... can you find the first 10 members of the sequence in the answers or the grid and the thematic property of the completed grid? You may need to say the answers out loud to find some of them.

Un-mowed May

This was the result of No-Mow May in our garden, photographed yesterday. Dawn was out with the strimmer today to make hay while the sun shines, but she has left some long at the side to see what happens.