Anglesey Abbey Winter Flowers

It was a lovely sunny winter's day but not cold - perfect for an annual pilgrimage  to Anglesey Abbey to view the winter flowers.

Culford Walk

We've had a visit from William this weekend, so we took him for a walk before lunch today.

Angles Way - Part 1

Today we took our first steps on our mission to walk the entirety of the 93 mile Angles Way.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 69 - 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 69 - 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 69 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.

Burns Night

 

It being Burns Night it just had to be...

Lynford Stag Walk

Today we had a frosty walk in Thetford Forest from the Lynford Stag to Lynford Hall, Lynford Water and Lynford Arboretum and the Desert Rats memorial.

Kimchi

As it's the lunar New Year, I chose a Korean dish for our dinner today, Pork and Kimchi stew, from The Hairy Bikers go local.

Cannonball and Nat

I was at the Hunter Club for my first live Jazz gig of the year last night.

SMS Rides Again

An email from my old friend Guy...

"As, I think, most people have in their diaries, the St Michael's Singers visit to Southwell will this year be: Wednesday Evening 9th August, commencing with a 7.00pm rehearsal until Sunday August 13th finishing after Evensong about 4.30. 5.00 Evensongs Thur, Fri, Sat, and 11.15 Mass (Full prayer book mass) / 3.30 Evensong on Sunday. We will aim for varied repertoire and the usual five different conductors. Repertoire suggestions welcome.

 Please let me know if you are able to attend. As always spouses and children are welcome. "

I'm looking forward to it already and today booked my accommodation, as last time, at The Crown Inn. Now, what to suggest to Guy for repertoire?

Seville Orange Marmalade Batch 2

A new label today for the latest batch cooked yesterday.

Thorpe Woodlands Walk

Today we crossed the border into Norfolk for a walk.

Seville Orange Marmalade

Today I made my first batch of Seville Orange Marmalade from the oranges I had bought at the market last Wednesday.

John's Walks 2022 Completed

My Index of walks so far this year (2022) has been updated for the remaining walks from mid-November to the end of the year. 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.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 68 - 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 68 - I Can Sing A Rainbow Too

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 68 in the series, entitled "I Can Sing A Rainbow Too".

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.

Melton Walk

Tuesday's walk was, alas, cancelled due to the dire weather, so Joyce hastily arranged something for today

Orange Marmalade Time

Today at the market I spotted two stalls had Seville oranges.

Happy Birthday William

That's it. All my children are now officially grown up. Congratulations William on your 21st birthday.

Transatlantic Sessions

For the long winter nights... and a bonus teaser for some of my local walking friends.

The Best Medicine...

Nasty colds have abounded in the household this Christmas and I finally caught the lurgie last Friday... and then another infection on top. The picture is of this morning's selection of pills (which, to be fair, includes 2 vitamin supplements), but I don't think I'll need anything more for breakfast! But there's one medicine I haven't tried yet...

Quick Cryptic Crossword Stats 2022

 

My TimesforTheTimes post on Friday was for the last Times Quick Cryptic crossword for the year and it provoked some interesting discussion...

Some Johann Strauss for New Year's Day

The Vienna New Year's Concert is an annual concert of classical music performed by the Vienna Philharmonic on the morning of New Year's Day in Vienna, Austria.