Clare to Bury Walk

I was surprised to find I had actually done this only once with Joyce, in September 2018 (see here), so was pleased to do be able it again today, although I was a bit nervous about lasting the distance.

Morley Hayes

This weekend Dawn and I had a trip to the Morley Hayes hotel, just north of Derby, where her friend Lauren was getting married to Tony.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 84 - 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 84 - 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 84 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. 

Bury St. Edmunds Beer Festival 2023

 

It's that time of year again and the Beer Festival is under way.

Cherry Tomatoes

We've been getting a few ripe tomatoes every few days already,

Beginner's Luck

I was surprised to see in this week's Times Crossword Club announcement of competition winners...

It was the first time I'd entered! 

Dried Chillis

Dawn has started on a cleaning mission. She was doing the dining room today and came across these in a cupboard....

Shotley Walk

Today we did some walking from Shotley, a favourite area for walking that I hadn't visited this year so far.

A Holkham Day Out

Today we had a trip to the North Norfolk Coast - to Holkham Hall.

William Has a Scooter

On Friday while I was away, William took delivery of a Honda scooter - it will be his transport to and from work in Peterborough from the start of next month. Here he is off for a ride.

Southwell Dumble Walk

While in Southwell (see here) we didn't get a lot of time free during the day, but we did get 3 hours between the end of the morning rehearsals and the rehearsal in the Minster for evensong. I decided to use the opportunity, after a quick lunch, to go on one of the local Heritage Trails - The Westhorpe Dumble Heritage Trail, which would take me on some paths I hadn't been on before.

St Michael Singers in Southwell 2023

I'm back now from our latest St. Michael's Singers reunion in Southwell.  We sang in five services and a lunchtime concert over four days in Southwell Minster. Somehow my voice managed to just about last out.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 83 - 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 83 - 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 83 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. 

Sloggers and Betters York 2023

And here's another announcement of a crossword event in October....

York Sloggers & Betters will be going ahead as usual. As ever, it’s in the diary for “Clock Weekend”, allowing everyone an extra hour to recover from Saturday exertions on Sunday morning.

Times Crossword Championship 2023

 It's back! Here is the announcement from Mick Hodgkin, The Times Puzzle Editor.

"After a four-year gap, I am delighted to announce that the Times Crossword Championship is back. 

The 2023 Championship will be held on Saturday October 21st at Times HQ, the News Building, right by London Bridge station. We are returning to an in-person event, largely following the format of the 2019 contest – two qualifying sessions, a semifinal session for the highest finishers in each qualifier, and a grand final in which the top three semifinalists tackle one puzzle. "

Brettenham Walk

It's the first Thursday in the month and time for the  Bury St. Edmunds U3A Longer Walks group monthly walk.

Ixworth Pakenham and Stowlangtoft Walk

Today it was my turn to leads a walk for Joyce's Weekly Walks.