RIP – Puck – funeral details

53 comments on “RIP – Puck – funeral details”

1. Oh I loved Puck’s mischievous puzzles and his Irish sense of humour. I am so sorry to learn he has died. I do remember he stopped setting a couple of years ago due to ill health and I missed him a lot. My thoughts go to his family and friends and are in sympathy with the crossword community who loved him.
   Just found my Comment (No. 81) on that blog which made me feel very sad:
   Julie in Australia
   June 23, 2022 at 01:04
   Fun puzzle for me. Just delighted to see Puck’s name on the top of this crossword. Thanks to him and Andrew.

2. The aptly-monickered Puck wasn’t shy of the odd Guardianism, but whether you like such things or not, his clues were always good, containing funny or telling ideas, and often great. He was one of my favourite compilers of that ilk, and it was a crying shame when he could no longer supply his fantastic work for our edification. RIP a great Guardian setter.

3. To al Puck’s friends and family, please know that he spread fun and joy to all we cruciverbalists. He may no longer be with us physically, but his puzzles remain forever. Thank you.

4. Sad news indeed, and my condolences to family and friends. I had the pleasure of blogging four of his Guardian Genius puzzles over the years, and I vaguely remember bumping in to him at a Time Championships a few years ago.
   He also gave generously of his time and skills to the 3D Crossword project…
   RIP Puck.

5. I’m so sorry to hear this news. Puck was for me one of the very best in the Guardian tradition. His puzzles were inventive and challenging, and above all great fun to solve. (With the odd armadillo thrown in for good measure.)
   Condolences to his family and friends, he will be sadly missed.

6. I’ve been missing Puck for some time, as he was one of my favourite setters. Sorry to hear that we’ll never see him again. The previous five posters here have all said something about Puck that I heartily agree with, so I’ll just conclude with a “me too”.

7. I’m so sorry to hear this. I worked with Puck on the 3D Crossword Calendar when he was crossword editor as well as a regular setter and occasional grid designer until he had to step back due to ill health. He gave a huge amount of his time, skill and care to the project. His puzzles of all dimensions were always a joy to solve.

   RIP Puck

8. Very sad news. The latest of many losses the Crossword world has suffered in the past few years. Another setter who will be sadly missed. R.I.P.

9. Puck was also Hob in the FT, and one of my favourite of his puzzles appeared on Midsummers Day and contained the lines “I am that merry wanderer and hob” as a nina around the outside perimeter. Superb from every point of view.

10. My condoleances to his family and friends. We enjoyed his Guardian puzzles and, of course, the 3D Crossword Calendar appearances. He will, indeed, be sorely missed.

11. Only the other day I was thinking “Havent seen Puck for a while”
    Very sad. Time find some old puzzles. of his and savour them

12. He very kindly gave me useful technical advice as a fellow Mac user with Crossword Compiler when I first experimented with setting.
    His puzzles were always good fun, with lots of quirky clues, and often unusual themes. (I’ve seen a few Groundhog Day-themed puzzles, but I think his may have been the first.)

13. I new Paul (Puck, Hob and The Wanderer) for 50 years and used to check all his puzzles for him before he submitted them. The puzzle Sagittarius @9 refers to was when he decided to out himself as the compiler under all three of those names. Previously, he wanted each of the three puzzle types to be faithful to the offerings of each of those broadsheets and he didn’t want it to be recognisable as Puck in the other two. However, by the time he produced the Midsummers Day puzzle, some people had sussed that he was Hob or the Wanderer, and one or two people believed he was all three. So, hence the decision to reveal his different personae.

14. Very sad.
    We were at school together, and we were friends for more than 50 years. His birthday was the day after mine, and we always exchanged birthday greetings. He started off setting puzzles for the GP Weekly, and he always wanted to set for the Guardian. And he even discussed with me what his puzzle name should be. We took a bus tour around the Isle of Wight and he was starting to compose a puzzle as we saw different locations. Maybe some puzzlers remember that one?
    He will be sorely missed by friends, family & lovers of his puzzles.

15. So, so sad.

    Like Julie in Australia @1, I loved Puck’s mischievous puzzles – as I’ve said more than once here, I regarded him as the natural successor to Araucaria – and I loved him in all his guises. As one of the ‘one or two people’ mentioned by Max Harris @13, I found it very difficult to keep my suspicions to myself and so the Midsummer puzzle came as something of a relief, as well as a delight.

    My own favourite clue of his is the glorious &littish 8, 2,14 from this puzzle:
    https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/lookup?crossword_type=cryptic&id=25704#

    I corresponded with Paul by email for a number of years and finally met him, just once, at the York S and B in 2019, hoping for further meetings but, sadly, COVID intervened.

    I add my condolences to his family and friends, including Johanna @14 (thank you for your lovely comment) – he will indeed be sorely missed.

16. Sad news: I feel humbled to have been the blogger of his last Guardian puzzle, which was a lovely tribute to Prunella Scales.

    His entry in Meet the Setter reveals an intriguing character with an eclectic range of interests.

17. Remember the curled up armadillo? He was one of my favourites when I first got into crosswords, a class act.

18. I am his sister, and it’s so lovely to read all these comments. It’s making me cry how much he was appreciated. Thank you.
    Doing the bank holiday double crossword was always an occasion for Paul, me and and our mum in the 1970s. With the aid of a dictionary, an encyclopedia, atlas, bird books and a thesaurus… not like these days. Carefully filled in and posted off.
    Paul was a little miffed when it was me that once won in the 1980s, a cheque for £25. Maybe that spurred him on with his ambition to compile them instead.

19. Thanks for all the appreciative comments. I am Paul’s brother and posted on 15sqd as Muck, but never on his puzzles.

20. He will be missed RIP and like everyone else has said, his crosswords were fun and enjoyable.

21. How lovely to hear from Paul’s siblings. It was Muck who coined the term ‘Araubetical’ , for the alphabetical puzzles invented by Araucaria, which I mentioned quite recently.

    And, Herb @17, I do remember the curled-up armadillo – I was the blogger who missed it!

22. I echo every sentiment expressed above.
    How delightful it is that such personalities are revealed though these puzzles.
    I, too, remember the curled-up armadillo.
    Condolences to all family and friends.

23. This is sad news indeed — my condolences to Puck’s family and friends. I always liked his crosswords. A few years ago I was on a hiking & rafting trip and I was ‘off the grid’ for much of the time. To keep my crossword habit going I brought printed copies of ‘vintage’ Puck and Arachne puzzles to do in the evening hours — that’s how much I enjoyed his work. Rest in peace.

24. Sorry to hear this news. I mostly encountered him as Hob in the Indy, and it’s maybe fitting that one of his puzzles was repeated in the i on Saturday – and a real gem it was.

25. Puck was one of my favorite setters in the Guardian. My stand-out clue of his was
    Irish county’s detailed model of [Ford] in the centre of Ballinascarty (7).
    which described the real life sculpture of a Model T as well as clueing CORTINA in his tribute puzzle to Ford.
    Sad to hear that he’s passed. He’ll be much missed.
    My condolences to his family and thanks for dropping into this thread.

26. RIP.

27. Glad to have been among the many of us who enjoyed Puck’s last, and sad that it was his last. Vale Puck and condolences to his loved one.

28. This is sad news. My condolences to family and friends. I always enjoyed Puck’s puzzles, he was a wonderful setter.

29. He seemed to me to be very well-read, as his work was often infused with little literary markers. He always provided an enjoyable solve, but there was often this something extra in there.

    A real loss to the community. RIP Puck, and condolences to his family, to whom many thanks for contributing to the thread.

30. This is very sad. A great setter and a lovely man. I met him twice and he edited one of my efforts for the 3D calendar. RIP Puck.

31. Really sad to hear this. Echoing Tramp, Paul (Puck) was a lovely chap, very gentle, full of fun, and a terrific setter. With love, my best wishes and respect to his loved ones too. John

32. Thank you for the link Andrew@16. I loved his puzzles; like other greats he always made sure his wonderful clues served a beautifully constructed symphony. Condolences to his family and friends

33. Our dear friend Puck was, or according to beliefs, is, a great friend in our 3D Crosswords Community and a prince amongst my favourite setters. Wonderfully erudite, and with sparkling wit, he lent his genius freely, enjoying the ‘crack’ of producing something beautiful and the satisfaction of helping youngsters in need and those with visual impairment. We benefitted hugely from his multivarious contributions of wonderful setting, clues that make one go into the yard and kick the wheely bin, imperial proofreading, grid design, innovations, crystal-clear and sensitive editing, hugely appreciated appearances at presentations, hilarious streams of nonetheless purposeful emails, not to mention excellent advice, encouragement and a fabulous hat.

    Dear Puck we miss you, but like the famous hotel, you may have checked out but you will never leave. Thank you so much for all your gifts.

    Eric Westbrook
    Sirius
    President BBC CiNA/RNIB 3D Crosswords
    Registered blind RNIB

34. Sad news indeed. I first encountered Paul’s puzzles in the FT as Wanderer. So elegant and never too easy or too difficult. Loved the way in which if answers were split, they were always ‘in line’.

35. I especially enjoyed Puck’s clever puzzles in the 3D Calendars, but I also remember the ‘curled-up armadillo’ puzzle that Eileen mentioned above, which I regard as a classic among daily newspaper puzzles. I was very sorry to hear of his passing, which is our loss.

36. I have known Paul for 45 years. Through a different medium , following Scarborough Football Club. I was very sad to hear of his passing. He will be very much missed. He was bright, very intelligent, loyal and always challenging. Thinking of you Ruth and Mike.

37. Requiescat in Pace…
    And many thanks, Puck

38. It was always a pleasure to find that Puck was the setter for the day – he is missed. And yes, I well remember the armadillo.

39. We adored Puck Mondays. His lovely, entertaining, witty puzzles were a delightful start to the week.
    Well said William @3
    RIP Puck

40. Such sad news.
    Paul/Puck was a favourite compiler whose puzzles were always greeted with glee. I am the very lucky recipient of a personalised Puck puzzle. My very close friend Susan is a good friend of Max@13, and when Puck was thinking of compiling personalised puzzles I was used as his guinea pig. It was the best Christmas present I’ve ever received and hangs in pride of place in our house. Puck and I exchanged several emails after I’d completed his puzzle.
    My condolences go to his family and many friends.

41. Paul was a great setter and I was privileged to be able to publish over 90 of his puzzles in the Indy. They were always very enjoyable and entertaining.

    I’ve been looking back at our correspondence and I’m passing on Paul’s comments on choosing his pseudonym, as they convey his personality and his intentions:

    I have had a think about a pseudonym. John Halpern, he of the 4-letter pseudonyms, suggested that I could stick with 4-letter words myself and was good enough to let me know that there are one or two good possibilities that rhyme with Puck! Eschewing both his advice and also French Connection’s idea that I could use Pcuk (a bit of a mouthful and too much like Peacock), I have instead decided on….

    …Hob. Which is a short and snappy, slightly subtle variation on Puck via Hobgoblin, whilst also providing a nod and a wink to the phrase ‘play (or raise) hob’ which involves the playful spreading of mischief and confusion.

    So here’s to some devilish good fun!

    RIP

42. William@3 says it all for me and lovely to read all the extra stories from people who knew Puck.

43. Eimi@41. I remember similar discussions with Paul when he was looking for new pseudonyms, which of course had to come from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” but not too obviously. I may have persuaded him against “fairy” but Hob(goblin) and “wanderer” are both in Act II Scene I.

44. Very sad to read about this. I always thought that Puck puzzles were the epitome of wit, and I equally enjoyed his alter ego in the Independent. I remember the armadillos fondly. Condolences to his family, friends and all those who loved him through the medium of cruciverbalism.

45. Unbelievable Crosby thread as relayed by Spooner – Puck’s favourite (10,6,4).
    RIP, dear Paul

46. I first met Paul when we lived in Manchester and we made Friday night trips to the pub. Although our paths diverged in later years I will always remember how much fun he was to be with. Condolences to his family, rest in peace now Paul.

47. Very sorry to hear this. Paul was a lovely man and a terrific setter.

48. I don’t think I ever met Paul, but knew him from his puzzles, esp as Hob and Wanderer – always very good, My condolences to his family and friends.

49. I was so sorry to hear this news. As many others have said, it was always a delight to see “Puck” at the top of the page as one knew one was going to be challenged and amused and led down a few garden paths. My condolences to all his family and friends.

50. The FT are publishing a Wanderer puzzle from 2020 this Saturday as tribute to Paul.

51. Thank you Ruth , I will savour this one and thanks to the family for agreeing.

52. Hope it’s not a spoiler to say that the Wanderer puzzle is a gem!

53. Just completed the FT puzzle from 2020, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably ran into Hob more frequently. His puzzles gained my “hard but fair” accolade, which is about as good as it ever gets. It’s a strange way to know people, through a pseudonym and a mind game, but it’s definitely life-enhancing! Thanks for the insights these comments have given into the man behind the grid. Condolences to those who knew him. RIP

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