Rover – Sad News
Posted by Admin on June 1st, 2010
Don Manley has posted on the Crossword Centre forum the sad news that Rover has died. His full text can be seen here.
Fifteensquared
Never knowingly undersolved.
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June 1st, 2010 at 8:43 pm
“Three swans” is one of the answers (7) is a lovely example of what Rover had to offer. R.I.P.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Farewell Rover, and thanks for all the fun you gave us.
June 1st, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Sad news indeed.
I have had a lot of pleasure and learnt a lot of new words form Rover’s puzzles over the years.
He will be sadly missed.
June 2nd, 2010 at 4:10 am
I am saddened to hear this news.
I regard myself as a medium-range solver and I found Mr Morgan’s puzzles were perfect for me.
R.I.P. Rover. Although I never met you, I will miss you.
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:06 am
RIP Rover. Thanks for the many entertaining puzzles you offered.
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:07 am
I can only reiterate what Scarpia said. The crossword page will be the poorer now that Rover has gone.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Thats something I did not want to hear.
My first ‘completed’ grid in the Guardian was a Rover puzzle, I believe in the summer of 08 on a Friday, I seem to remember 1ac being ‘radiator’ something hanging on walls, I can’t remember the entire clue, but remember several answers from that puzzle. I seemed always to be on his wavelength and found his style ‘my thing’.
Well lets hope the Guardian crossword editor has a stock pile of more Rover’s to come!
R.I.P – In the Lord’s hands.
June 2nd, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Thanks Rover for a lot of fun. We are much poorer for your passing.
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:29 am
Not such a great Birthday present Don, always sad to see one of the setting crew go.
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:34 am
Very sad news indeed. Doing the crosswords you feel you get to know the setters – only as setters admittedly, but – they touch us solvers in a very real way I think.
R.I.P. Rover, you will most definitely be missed.
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I am pleased to see some positive appreciation of Rover on this site. My original message on the Crossword Centre message board elicited no response whatever, and there was a somewhat minimalist acknowledgement on the Guardian’s own Crossword Talk site. Rover was on the easy and straightforward side, but was generally fair and entertaining. He was also a good, decent man. Rover and his work deserve to be remembered with affection.
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:52 pm
It would be for people to respond (or not) as they see fit, Don. It might be frustrating, but you can’t force people to express themselves in a certain way!
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Quite so, but it’s sad that on one website we hear more about a blogger’s problems with British Gas than we do about a loyal setter who surely deserved a tiny mention. I think this says a whole lot (not entirely good) about certain blogs and the people who tend to dominate them. End of story. May Rover rest in peace.
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Hi Don
I don’t wish this post to go off topic, ie a tribute to Rover, but I have to say that I agree with your sentiment. I used to visit the Crossword Centre’s Message Board daily but now the majority of posts/comments have nothing whatsoever to do with crosswords. Fortunately I made one of my occasional visits soon after you posted the sad news and was therefore able to add something here.
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Rover was one of the setters whose accessible puzzles gave me a entry into this wonderful pastime. In a busy week, his gentle crosswords provided a few minutes of fun and relaxation. He seems to have attracted more than his fair share of detractors on this site of late (I am a relative newcomer here and don’t know if it was ever thus), but I feel that many remarks on his puzzles often said at least as much about the commentator as about his crosswords. He was somebody who gave me much pleasure over the years and I shall miss him.
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:43 pm
As a long time contributor to both sites, 15sq and Crossword Centre (CC), I think it’s only fair to say that the structure is different in each. Here each blog is on a specific puzzle, whereas the threads on the CC will vary, but, with the odd exception, are usually related to crosswords in one way or another. Also, CC contributors’ main interest as far as puzzles are concerned is the Listener, I’d say, so many of its contributors may not have tackled Rover(RIP)in the Guardian.
June 4th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Thanks jmac and admirably well put.
June 4th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
It looks to me as if he’s having a pop at contributors who didn’t like Rover puzzles very much, by reason of the compiler’s passing. This is underhand. I think we should be able to express opinions honestly, without fear of recrimination for whatever reason.
June 4th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
I noticed that on the crossword centre had no sorry to hear for Rover’s passing, I read the text as ‘if anybody knows Rover’ ?
I didn’t know Rover, and I guess that pretty much all who visit the crossword center are Listener, or advanced cryptic solvers. Rover not being that style of setter, made more sense for all to reply here as this is a daily cryptic site – in which Rover was part of.
June 4th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Walruss. Re ‘underhand’. As far as I myself am concerned, I stated quite plainly on the day (May 11 @15) that I was surprised at the ‘unremitting harshness of some comments’ about Rover’s last offering. In this virtual world of ‘blog IDs’, it is perhaps too easy to go OTT.
June 4th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I’ve never been much in sympathy with the virtual world of blog IDs. I’ve always posted whatever I had to say under my own name.
It was quite right to mark Rover’s passing here and, of course, “de mortuis nihil nisi bonum dicamus.” But it’s hardly appropriate to take issue with expressed opinions, however harsh, of his crosswords while he was alive.
June 4th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Bill. You are right that this is not the place for this argument. I will comment on general chat.
June 4th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
I shall look for you there.
June 4th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Well, Bill is simply right about the whole thing, I thnink.
June 4th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Hi walruss. See 22 and 23
June 4th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Sorry to hear the news. I enjoyed Rover’s puzzles.