Time for More Gin

Christmas will be coming sooner than I expect, so I thought I'd get get ahead of things and get some gin made for presents.. and to replenish our supply of Tassel Nanobrewery Gin.

Dream Machine

7D Car plant (5). That is a clue from last Saturday's Times Cryptic Jumbo Crossword, for which I am writing the blog explaining the answers. Can you get it? The answer is...

Stoke-by-Nayland Walk

Today we did again a walk first done in September 2020 (see here). It was one of Glen's that he had offered for the 2020 Suffolk Walking Festival that got cancelled, which he called "Suffolk Slopes". And indeed there is quite a bit of up and down (for Suffolk, that is).

William Returns to York

I had a day trip today to York and back, taking William and his stuff there for the new University year.

Freezer Pickle with Carrots

Yesterday I did some more pickling. This time a "freezer pickle" from my favourite pickling book, Linda Ziedrich's "Joy of Pickling" - Freezer Pickle with Carrots.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 60 - 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 60 - 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 60 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.

Wickhambrook Walks

Today it was my turn to lead a walk for Joyce's Weekly Walks. I decided to do a two-parter based on this leaflet from the Discover Suffolk website. I'd done the walks back in March and April 2021 (see here, here and here) and thought it was about time we visited Wickhambrook again.

Johns Walks 2022 Updated

My Index of walks so far this year (2022) has been updated for the first time since May. 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.

New Email Notifications

The blog was set up to allow update  email subscriptions using a Google service called Feedburner. This went into maintenance mode last year, which removed the ability to add new subscriptions.

A Drink to the Late Queen - Glenturret Whisky

After spending the day watching the funeral services and processions, this evening we opened my bottle of 12-year-old Glenturret Whisky that I bought at the distillery on holiday (see here) to raise a glass to the late Queen.

U3A Day Trip to Wisbech and Peterborough

Today I was on a coach trip organised by the Bury St Edmunds U3A. It was a two-centre trip visiting Peckover House in Wisbech and Peterborough Cathedral.

More Tomato Chutney

The cherry tomatoes keep on coming so I made some more tomato chutney with another 500g of them.

Sudbury to Bures Walk

Today we did again a walk we last did in August 2019 (see here).

Pickling Time

Last year I made some pickled onions that Dawn said were the best ever (see here). Last week, seeing some at the market for the first time this autumn,  I bought 3lb of pickling onions for £2 so I could make some more.

Crossword Central Meetup

Today I travelled to London to meet up with some Crossword friends.

Kett's Country Trail

Today we  did a long rural walk following the waymarked Kett's Country Trail from Eaton, on the outskirts of Norwich, to Wymondham.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 59 - 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 59 - I can't see the wood... 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 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 59 in the series, entitled "I can't see the wood...".

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.

Sudbury to Bulmer Walk

Today we did a circular walk from Sudbury via Bulmer and Belchamp Walter, a walk we last did two years ago (see here).

Another Win!

 Look what I got in the post today...

I've now got three £20 Waterstones gift cards to spend, but the new edition of Chambers Dictionary isn't due out until next year. What other crossword-related reference books can I buy, I wonder?

U3A Geldeston Walk

Today was the first Thursday of the month and so time for the monthly U3A Bury St Edmunds Longer Walks group walk. Today we were led by Martin and Jessica in a lovely circular walk in the Waveney Valley.