A message from Sil

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A message from Sil van den Hoek

Early last week I was pleasantly surprised, read: delighted, to find a lovely card in my mailbox, sent from the S and B gathering in Nottingham.

Lovely to see all those familiar names.

Every now and then I feel a bit emotional about how my life has changed in the past 18 months.

I wish I could have been there.

At least it was possible for my alter ego to make a crossword contribution, for which I have to publicly thank John Henderson for printing and distributing.

For those who, like me, missed the Nottingham event and in particular the crossword lovers who were literally oceans apart, below are the handouts for the day:

Dalibor A @ Nottingham 2023
Dalibor B @ Nottingham 2023

The puzzles were clearly written in 2021 or perhaps even earlier.

This time there will be no blogs but here are the solutions:
Dalibor A completed grid
Dalibor B completed grid

14 comments on “A message from Sil”

  2. Hello Sil, Great to hear from you. I had heard that you had had some health problems and I hope you’re now managing OK. I take it from your comments above that you are indeed Dalibor. I thought you might be interested to know that of the 121 setters who have set 5 or more “non-specialist” cryptic crosswords in the Indy, Guardian and FT over the last five and a bit years, based on my median solving times for your 18 puzzles, you come in as the fifth most difficult following the aforementioned John Henderson (as Enigmatist, Nimrod and Io) and Monk in his FT guise. For fear of embarrassing myself, I won’t tell you what that median solving time is!

    Anyway, thanks for including the two puzzles which I look forward to doing; I’m not expecting a smooth ride, but that’s fine by me. My very best wishes to you.

  3. Sil – we don’t know each other but I’ve enjoyed reading your comments on 15² for the last ten years – often posted after many others have had their say. Even your more longwinded and Zoilist comments – indeed, they’ve sometimes been the most engrossing!
    I just wanted to say thank you, Sil – and wish you all the very best (relief, power, hope and love)

    William F P x

  4. Dalibor crosswords were firm favourites of mine. Often very challenging but always enjoyable. Normally, I don’t attempt any extra crosswords due to lack of time but had to have a go at these. Just completed A and loved it. No spoilers but I thought 16a was a brilliant spot; 21/7 and 24 were delightfully devious; and 4a & 9a were also standout clues. Hope your health improves Sil and we get to see more of your puzzles. All the best.

  6. Hello Sil, I enjoyed the Dalibor puzzle featured in the ‘i’ newspaper this week. Excellent clues throughout.

  7. Have now completed B. Great fun again. Pleased to spot 9a which led to getting 1d & 4d. Cheated on 28a, then kicked myself. Missed the very nice nina.

  9. Sil
    It was good to hear from you – I send you my best wishes too. And thanks for posting those puzzles. I’ve tried puzzle A, which I enjoyed very much – there was a lot to appreciate in the clues. I looked for a nina (or a theme), but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t one. I failed to get 1a and 1d, and I’m kicking myself now.
    All the best
    Alan

  10. Great to hear from you, Sil – we’re missing you and your crosswords.

    Really enjoyed those two puzzles – not easy but always entertaining, with fresh and original clues and no obscurities. Favourite clue was probably the ‘fully naked academics’ which was so obvious once I eventually solved it! Missed the nina in B, of course.

    Do hope you’ll be able to attend one of the S&Bs soon.

  14. It was good to have news of you, Sil. I knew you were dealing with some health challenges but have missed your wise input and insights on 15². I have printed off the Dalibors and put them in my “To Do” folder, so hope to enjoy them sometime soon. Thank you for sharing them. Warmest regards, Julie in Australia

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