Comments on: Enigmatic Variations 1026 Going Global by Chalicea

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:41:33 +0000

I got held up on this for a while because for 8d I had kangaroo-rats. A nice bit of nostalgia for the over 50s (like me) was evoked by this puzzle.

By: twencelas

twencelas — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:33:03 +0000

My humblest apologies Chalicea, I should have been more thorough in my analysis. And as to the theme, being the 50th anniversary it deserved to be remembered in puzzle form.

Slaney – I’d be surprised if there are many who tackle these puzzles without reference to the information on the internet. However, last time I read the Listener rules the theme is supposed to be available from standard reference books which limits the breadth of subject matter somewhat. The IQ and EV both appear to have embraced the use of the internet to determine themes – Telstar is defined in Chambers and well-known but for Goonhilly downs I too did use the web.

By: slaney

slaney — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 15:16:39 +0000

I did the EV first twencelas so maybe had an advantage.

As regards the point made by Dave Hennings – I’m relatively new to crossword solving, but do not the vast majority of crossword solvers and setters use Google?
I’m always surprised to find that this is not presumed/acknowledged.

By: Chalicea

Chalicea — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 15:02:49 +0000

Thanks to all. Twencelas, I had a horrified moment when I read this this morning and saw that my message was so dreadfully ambiguous. That explained the Answerbank confusion about it. Of course, opting for T a an extra letter in 24 was a plausible error and understandable after Ploy’s delightful IQ on the day before did actually have Telstar distant in the sky. (Yet again, I have managed to duplicate someone else’s theme but promise there was no collusion!)
I’m really grateful to Slaney for putting things right, and to Dave (actually the editor accepted this one because he was amused by the Arthur link!). Most of all, thanks to Twencelas – this was the second of ours on the run (Rasputin three weeks ago) and we do appreciate the blogs.

By: twencelas

twencelas — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 09:25:13 +0000

Thank you Slaney – I hang my head in shame. I’ve updated the blog – my excuse, poor that it may be, is that it was the same theme as the Inquisitor I’d done a day earlier and I guessed the theme before I’d started the puzzle.

By: Dave Hennings

Dave Hennings — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 09:11:46 +0000

The only thing to add is that Arthur was the name of Antenna 1 at Goonhilly and was built in 1962 to link with Telstar. This courtesy of Google, without which I would never have known that. I think the preamble should have read “Chambers (2011) is recommended together with an intimate knowledge of early telecommunications”!

Dave.

By: slaney

slaney — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 08:45:29 +0000

24a Scots spare =(H)ain
27a Accepted = ha(D)

By: slaney

slaney — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 08:33:38 +0000

I made the extra letters COLOUR DISH AND TARGET..