Avatar : The Way of Water

Today Dawn, Laura, Laurence and I had a trip to the cinema to see...

Weekend Quick Cryptic 67 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's Sawbill's turn. 

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 67 - by Sawbill

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 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 Times for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too. And then, more recently, so did Sawbill. So now the three of us take turns, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. 

This time it is Sawbill's turn to provide the fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword, Number 67 in the series.

You can try and solve the crossword interactively here on MyCrossword or here on crossword.info.  As usual you can download a PDF to print which you can find here. Alternatively you can copy and print the image below. Comments and queries are welcome with the solution post (which also gives tips on some of the clues).  I will react to any comments or queries there as soon as I can. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Games Days

With several of the family under the weather with nasty colds we've mostly stayed in over the Christmas period. But Laura and Laurence had brought a big selection of board games to keep everyone amused.

Art Day

Today was Art Day... 

A Family Christmas

We have 6 here for Christmas, as we did last year with everyone home. Here we are at the Christmas dinner table

Christmas Tiffin

I saw a link to this recipe on the BBC website recently and I thought it might make a nice Christmas treat.

Tassel Gin #16

I decided I needed some more for Christmas presents, so out came the still again yesterday.

A Swinging Christmas with Jazz at the Movies

Last night William and I attended a packed Apex concert given by the Jazz at the Movies group.

The Gravestones of Suffolk

Today I attended the last U3A Bury St Edmunds monthly lecture of 2022.

Rebop - Miles in the '50s

Last night I had my last trip to the Hunter Club this year.

Green Chilli Sauce

After doing another batch of pickled jalapeños I still had plenty left over so thought I'd try out a new recipe.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 66 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's Phil's turn. 

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 66 - 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 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 Times for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too. And then, more recently, so did Sawbill. So now the three of us take turns, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. 

This time it is Phil's turn to provide the fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword, Number 66 in the series.

You can try and solve the crossword interactively here on MyCrossword or here on crossword.info.  As usual you can download a PDF to print which you can find here. Alternatively you can copy and print the image below. Comments and queries are welcome with the solution post (which also gives tips on some of the clues).  I will react to any comments or queries there as soon as I can. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Chilli Jam

More chilli produce.

Razorback Chilli Sauce

Some more of the chillis have ripened and my jars have arrived so today it was time to do something more with the chilli crop. Here are some of them minced.

A Snowy Cambridge Saunter

Today we had a return trip to Cambridge now the A14 roadworks are finally gone. We found, when we got there that there had been a good couple of inches of snow overnight.... deep and crisp and even.

My First Ginger Biscuits

Inspired by Joyce's gingerbread biscuits shared on the walk on Friday, I decided to look for a recipe and try making my own.

Honeyed Jalapeños

No need to wait for all the chillis to ripen. The green jalapeños are looking perfect for pickling.

Ripening the Chillis

 

Since Dawn harvested the chillis last weekend the have been stored in carrier bags in the greenhouse.

Ramparts Field Walk

Today we had a wintry walk from Ramparts Field near West Stow to Icklingham, Cavenham Heath and Tuddenham and back.

Long Melford and Sudbury Walk

Today we had a winter 'leg-stretcher' putting the Long in Long Melford.

The Mathematics of Bellringing

Today I attended a U3A Online Learning Event

Falkenham Walk 1st December

 

On Thursday, while I was on my walk from Hawkedon with the U3A Bury St. Edmunds Longer Walks Group (see here), Joyce was leading a walk from Falkenham...

Tassel Gin #15

Time to make some more gin for Christmas presents.

Chilli Harvest

This weekend Dawn cropped the chillis and cleared away the plants.

Starling Murmuration Revisited.

 
Today I got Dawn up early and we went to see if we could see the starling murmuration at Lackford Lakes, as I did in Monday (see here).

Tattingstone Walk

A hastily arranged walk today - plan C for Joyce who's first two plans had to be cancelled.

U3A Hawkedon Walk

Today was the first Thursday of the month and so time for the U3A Bury St. Edmunds Longer Walks group monthly walk. This time it was Jane's turn to lead and she chose to do what has become one of my favourite walks, a circular walk from Hawkedon via Denston and Stansfield.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 65 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's my turn. 

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 65 - The Geese Are Getting Fat

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 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 Times for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too. And then, more recently, so did Sawbill. So now the three of us take turns, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. 

This time it is my turn to provide the fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword, Number 65 in the series, entitled "The Geese Are Getting Fat".

You can try and solve the crossword interactively here on MyCrossword or here on crossword.info.  As usual you can download a PDF to print which you can find here. Alternatively you can copy and print the image below. Comments and queries are welcome with the solution post (which also gives tips on some of the clues).  I will react to any comments or queries there as soon as I can. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

St Andrew's Day Dinner

It just had to be haggis! With tatties, neeps and baked beans, of course.

First Pickled Chillis of the Season

On Sunday I decided it was time to use up the first crop of chillis that had been picked 2 weeks ago.

Starling Murmuration

Last December (see here) we visited Lackford Lakes to try and see the starling murmuration, but the flock had moved on.

Jo Harrop at The Sunday Lounge

 

Today I dragged Dawn away from her marking of schoolwork to go to this concert at the Hunter Club...

Bury St. Edmunds Winter Beer Festival

I missed this last year, but thought I'd go along for a couple of beers yesterday afternoon...

Woolpit, Rattlesden and Shelland Walk

Today it was my turn to lead a walk for Joyce's group. I combined a couple of other walks to make a 10 1/2 mile route from Woolpit.

Johns Walks 2022 Updated

My Index of walks so far this year (2022) has been updated for walks since mid-September. You can find it here. It is a bit of a fiddly job so, as always, if you find any broken or inaccurate links please let me know so I can fix them.

The Tip of the Iceberg by David Jarvis

It seems no time since his first book (The Collation Unit) was published but my fellow Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword compiler and author David Jarvis (aka Sawbill)  has another book out.

Hannah Horton at the Hunter Club

It's been a while since I've been around on a Friday night when the Jazz at the Hunter Club has been on, but last night I was able to go to this.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 64 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's Phil's turn. 

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 64 - by Sawbill

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 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 Times for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too. And then, more recently, so did Sawbill. So now the three of us take turns, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. 

This time it is Sawbill's turn to provide the fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword, Number 64 in the series.

You can try and solve the crossword interactively here on MyCrossword or here on crossword.info.  As usual you can download a PDF to print which you can find here. Alternatively you can copy and print the image below. Comments and queries are welcome with the solution post (which also gives tips on some of the clues).  I will react to any comments or queries there as soon as I can. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

U3A Bury St. Edmunds Monthly Lecture

 

Today I attended this month's U3A Bury St. Edmunds monthly lecture at the Apex.

Wortham and Diss Walk

Today we have a guest post for a walk I was invited to go on, but couldn't because I had my flu jab booked for lunchtime. Many thanks to Joyce and Tania for the content. Maybe I should get them to do all the walk posts in future!

This week's Taste Tests

As many will know I'm an occasional taste tester for Good Sense Research. I'm not allowed to say what is being tested, but they have asked me to forward the link below to others who might be interested...

"This is a quick reminder than you are booked onto a <deleted>  taste test with Good Sense Research in Bury St Edmunds on Tuesday 15^th AND Wednesday 16^th. As mentioned when signing up, you will need to attend both days to receive the £25 incentive. If you need to change session times please contact us, we rely on your attendance to ensure we hit target completes. We find it difficult to find replacements when participants do not let us know in advance that they can no longer make it so please attend the session where possible.
 

We are still searching for a few Females and Males aged 55 to 70 years old to take part. If you know someone who would be interested, please send them the link below to sign up:

Sign-up Link 

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

The Chilli Harvest Begins

 Rather later than usual, but the fruit are only just becoming ripe...

They look and taste lovely, though. I'll just use some for cooking for now until we get some more and then it will be chilli pickling/sauce/chutney time!

Where is this?

A little teaser for my local walking friends. Do you recognise this path I followed this afternoon?

Berner's Heath Walk

It is November and the SSSI at Berner's Heath is now accessible until the end of February... so time to visit it while we can.

Rainbow

 Seen on my local afternoon walk today...

...but I couldn't find the pot of gold.

A Final Farewell to Hilda and Peter

Yesterday, after the wedding on Saturday, we had one more thing to do before heading for home from Whitewell.

Chris and Emma get Married

Third time lucky... the wedding between our nephew Chris and partner Emma had been postponed twice, but yesterday it went ahead at the Whitewell Inn.

Whitewell Walk

Tonight we are staying at The Inn at Whitewell after Chris and Emma's wedding there later today (q.v.). We stayed overnight last night at the (cheaper) Premier Inn in Burnley and came here first thing this morning. With a bit of time to spare this morning we decided to take a short walk from the hotel's booklet of 5 local walks.

The Times Crossword Club Monthly Club Special...

...has a new blogger....

Weekend Quick Cryptic 63 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's Phil's turn. 

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 63 - 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 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 Times for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too. And then, more recently, so did Sawbill. So now the three of us take turns, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. 

This time it is Phil's turn to provide the fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword, Number 63 in the series.

You can try and solve the crossword interactively here on MyCrossword or here on crossword.info.  As usual you can download a PDF to print which you can find here. Alternatively you can copy and print the image below. Comments and queries are welcome with the solution post (which also gives tips on some of the clues).  I will react to any comments or queries there as soon as I can. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

A Cambridge Amble

Today we had a trip to Cambridge for a leisurely walk, coffee at the Michaelhouse Centre and a lunchtime concert at Newnham College.

Sloggers & Betters Weekend 2022

This weekend I've been to York for the Annual Crossword Sloggers & Betters event - my 4th visit.

Family Visit to Anglesey Abbey

This week we have had Kirsty and David staying, and they joined Joyce's Weekly Walks on Tuesday (Nacton Shores) and yesterday (East Bergholt - Constable Country). In the evening yesterday we were joined by Sue, who is singing in Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral tomorrow and Lavenham on Saturday.

East Bergholt Walk

Today we did a walk in Constable Country. My sister Kirsty and her husband David joined us again.

Nacton Shores Walk

Today we did a walk I had missed the first time around from the Nacton Shores picnic site on the banks of the River Orwell.

Green Cherry Tomato Chutney

I mentioned last week that Dawn had harvested the last of our cherry tomatoes, which have been cropping prodigiously for the last few months.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 62 - Solution

My fellow TimesforTheTimes contributors Phil Jordan, Sawbill and I are continuing to produce Quick Cryptic crosswords to fill the gap left by the Saturday Times not having one. The plan is for us to take turns, publishing one a fortnight, and this week it's my turn. The title may be a bit misleading. Before looking at the answers see if you can identify the theme and the 10 thematic answers.

You can find a link to the crossword here and the answers below. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here as you would do on TfTT. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 62 - We'll meet again?

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 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 Times for the Times, Phil Jordan, volunteered to produce some too. And then, more recently, so did Sawbill. So now the three of us take turns, publishing each new crossword via my Friday Quick Crossword blog. 

This time it is my turn to provide the fortnightly Weekend Quick Cryptic crossword, Number 62 in the series, entitled "We'll meet again?".

You can try and solve the crossword interactively here on MyCrossword or here on crossword.info.  As usual you can download a PDF to print which you can find here. Alternatively you can copy and print the image below. Comments and queries are welcome with the solution post (which also gives tips on some of the clues).  I will react to any comments or queries there as soon as I can. You can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here.

Martlesham Walk

Today we had a walk from a new start point, the Car Park of Martlesham Church. Most of the route, though, was familiar from other walks, in particular Glen's Melton Meander from October 2020.