Crossword News September 2024

 Crossword News September 2024

The August Prize Puzzle was Harmony by Dysart, published as a tribute after the death of the setter. Extra letters give THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES. Hidden in the grid are PYTHAGORAS, ARISTOTLE and KEPLER, all of whom have considered the theme. Also hidden is COLDPLAY, a musical group using the thematic title, centrally placed. The completion of 22 involved placing O in the central square to represent the sun as the centre of the universe, which the ancient Greeks knew about well before the time of Pythagoras.

Here are some of the comments from solvers.

I'm very sorry to read of the passing of Dysart. He's provided me with some lovely mental tussles over the years.  This one was another. Quite a toughie I found.  As ever, I've learned something new from a master setter. Who'd have thought Coldplay, Aristotle, Kepler and Pythagoras could all be linked thus.  Sad to think I'm unlikely to do another Dysart puzzle. 

This was the third Dysart puzzle I had solved this month (the others were in The Listener and Magpie) and it took longer than either of the others, mainly because of an error on my part at 36ac/32 dn, which meant that I could not find Kepler in the grid.  Some tough clues allied to an unfamiliar theme made this a fairly chewy puzzle.

This was a steady but not a rapid solve, with well-disguised extra letters throughout the down clues. Many thanks to Dysart and The Crossword Centre.

There were 36 entries, of which 7 were marked incorrect, although only two had the wrong central vowel. The lucky winner, picked from the electronic hat, was David Howell from Ilkley, who will be receiving a prize of Chambers Crossword Dictionary which was donated by Chambers.

There is a full solution at https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/2024/09/solution-to-harmony-by-dysart.html

The October Prize Puzzle will be Location by Gnomie.

We do not have a puzzle for November, so submissions would be welcome.
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After solving the republished Cain’s Jawbone by Torquemada, John Finnemore has created a similar puzzle book. The Researcher’s First Murder is another Torquemada mystery. A body is found stabbed to death in a locked room. The police find no weapon, no motive and no suspects. However, the murderer has in their possession a box of one hundred cryptic picture postcards which – if properly understood – would explain not just this murder, but nine others. These are those cards. Solvers must rearrange the pages of text to unravel the story and identify the murderer, victim and location for each of the ten murders. They must also consider the separate puzzles presented by the curious images on the other sides.

Amazon is selling it for £19.55 and there is a Kindle version for £5.99, although I cannot see how you could rearrange the pages on a Kindle.
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A reminder that the York S & B will take place on the 25^th and 26^th October. All the details, booking options and a list of who is going her -
https://www.fifteensquared.net/2024/08/06/sb-york-2024-friday-25th-saturday-26th-october-2024/
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The Times Crossword Championship is scheduled for the 19^th October. This year there is a limit of 120 competitors and already, most of those have been taken. Most of the top 50 finishers from 2023 have taken up their guaranteed places but there is also a healthy number of first-time competitors who will be in the running for the new Richard Rogan prize for the best new entrant.
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Peter Biddlecombe has published a fine collection, 100 Years of the Sunday Times Crossword. The Sunday Times crossword will be 100 years old in 2025 and Peter has chosen a puzzle from each of year. He suggests that you start solving from the newest ones and working backwards. In that way you can better see how the crossword evolved and prepare you for clue styles that would not be acceptable today.
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Mick Hodgkin, in an article in The Times, confirmed that a long-standing rule had been lifted.

Two months ago, we lifted a long-standing Times Crossword rule that barred mentioning any living person apart from the monarch in cryptic puzzles. As the puzzles newsletter explained, the plan was for a gentle introduction of the occasional famous name, allowing the crossword to feel more contemporary and moving away from the idea that the only good celebrity is a dead celebrity. I added a caveat: “We will, however, exercise caution in avoiding topical references that could prove controversial.”
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If you are looking for book for an imaginative 10-year-old, A Riddle for a King by Mark Forsyth might be just right. A boy sets off on a weird adventure and faces riddles and conundrums. The book is beautifully illustrated by Matthew Land and I think it would delight readers of any age.
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Twenty years ago, Apex sent me some documents for me to photocopy and use on the website. One was an essay and a puzzle that had been published in the magazine, Games and Puzzles. The puzzle, Side by Side, has been on the Apex website since then, but, I recently learned that it was in the magazine of the 19^th February 1977. I have revived the puzzle and a link to the article on the blog.
https://crosswordcentre.blogspot.com/p/side-by-side-by-apex.html
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The latest Azed Slip is on the Crossword Centre with the results of the clues for FOLKLORIST. http://www.crossword.org.uk/Azed2720.pdf

J. Burscough won with this compound anagram.

Holst, liker of dances – —— he?

The final Annual Honours List will be published later this month and we will learn who won the 2023/24 competition.

With Azed getting close to 2750 crosswords it is most probable that there will be a celebration next year.
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The 2025 Listener Dinner will take place on 15th March 2025 at the Waterfront Hotel, Southport.
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Best wishes
Derek