Tuesday, 31 October 2023

Norwich Nooks and Crannies Walk


Today we had an interesting and historical meander around the centre of Norwich.

Monday, 30 October 2023

Times Crossword Championship Official Photo Album


An album of photographs from the official photographer of The Championship has now been published here. How many photos can you spot me in?

Sunday, 29 October 2023

Sloggers & Betters York 2023

This weekend was the annual Sloggers & Betters event organised by John Henderson.

Thursday, 26 October 2023

John's Walks 2023 Updated

My page of walks this year, John's Walks 2023, containing distances and links to posts, routes, GPX files and photos is now up to date to 23rd October. As usual, if you find any links that are broken let me know.

Monday, 23 October 2023

Lynford Stag Walk

Today we had a rearranged walk to avoid the flooding aftermath of Storm Babet in the heart of Suffolk.

Friday, 20 October 2023

Holiday in Northumberland

We are now back from a great week in Craster in Northumberland

Storm Babet hits Craster

What a difference a few days makes!

Weekend Quick Cryptic 88 - 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 TfTTYou can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here. 

Weekend Quick Cryptic 88 - Don't Let It Bug You

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 88 in the series, entitled "Don't Let It Bug You". As usual, there is a bit of a hint in the title to some thematic answers.

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. 

Thursday, 19 October 2023

Preston Tower

After the stormy conditions overnight, the weather calmed down a bit this morning and we were able to take a final trip out.

Wednesday, 18 October 2023

Low Newton to Craster Walk

After yesterday's exertions Jane was going to have a quiet day today, so David kindly took Dawn and I to Low Newton, just up the coast, so we could walk back.

Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Farne Island Boat Trip

Today we all went on a boat trip from Seahouses round the Farne Islands.

Monday, 16 October 2023

Seahouses and Bamburgh

Today Dawn and I did a bit of sightseeing with some short walks at Seahouses and then Bamburgh.

Craster Kippers for Breakfast

David and I were keen to have some Craster kippers for breakfast.

Saturday, 14 October 2023

Craster Howick Hall and Beach Walk

After breakfast this morning Dawn and I went on another walk.

Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle Walk

We are in Craster for a week on holiday, arriving yesterday afternoon. This morning Dawn and I went for a walk before breakfast

Wednesday, 11 October 2023

Friday, 6 October 2023

Mildenhall Walk

Today we did a walk from Mildenhall to Isleham.

Weekend Quick Cryptic 87 - 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 TfTTYou can find an index to the complete series of crosswords here. 

Weekend Quick Cryptic 87 - 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 87 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. 

Thursday, 5 October 2023

Barrow Walk


 Today's walk, the latest of the U3A Bury St Edmunds Longer Walks group monthly walks, was from Barrow.

Sunday, 1 October 2023

Requiem 2020 - Raw Mixes


Guy has shared some initial "raw mix"  recordings of our our work last weekend (see here).