Merry Christmas and Happy New Year …

by

… and any other appropriate greetings too numerous to list.

As 2022 nears its end, I’d like to thank my team of faithful bloggers who all do a tremendous job of keeping an army of crossword aficionados entertained and informed on a purely voluntary basis.

And, of course, the blogs wouldn’t be much without the people (both regular and occasional) who take the time to add comments. And, believe me, bloggers thrive on the comments.

And thanks to the many people who frequent this site but have not yet taken the time to comment. Perhaps some of you will take the plunge in 2023.

Thanks also to the many people who have responded to the “Site Funding” request. I decided to implement it without making a big announcement as I didn’t want to appear to be begging and I didn’t want “guilt trip” anyone into helping to fund the site. I know that Gaufrid put out an appeal a few years ago and he was overwhelmed by the response. Truth is that the site costs x amount to run every year and so far donations have amounted to y. The difference between x and y is quite small at the moment and if x and y remain at similar levels year on year then we have enough to keep the site going.

Thanks also to all the crossword setters and their editors. Without you there’d be no need for the site.

 

 

MERRY  CHRISTMAS  TO  ALL

51 comments on “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year …”

  1. Thank you all. I’m one of the ‘occasional’ commenters (how can I be the first here???) but visit regularly to discover parsings I can’t work out.

  2. Thanks to you and all the bloggers, and not forgetting fellow commenters. I only discovered this site earlier this year (I only actually starting doing crosswords this spring) and finding this site was the gateway to what became a hugely rewarding hobby. Without this site I think I’d have given up long before now, but you turbocharged my crosswording education and I’m forever grateful. Very happy to tip in a few quid whenever the tin needs a rattle. Merry Christmas!

  5. I started doing cryptics in the fifties, but discovered Fifteensquared much more recently! Love it, so thank you all and merry Christmas.

  6. My seasonal good wishes are reciprocated to you, Ken. Thank you for taking on the running of the site and for making your own necessary and appropriate contributions from time to time – not to mention your excellent blogs.

    I have enjoyed reading the blogs on this site and contributing to them from time to time for eight years and intend to continue. I now regularly comment on one monthly puzzle and two weekly ones but often read (and occasionally contribute to) other blogs too.

  7. Happy Christmas Ken, sorry I missed you in York this year. Thanks for taking over from Gaufrid, to whom every best wish.
    Best wishes for 2023 to the FifteenSquared community of bloggers, compilers & commenters,
    Rob
    ps If anyone happens to have news of Sil I’d be grateful for an email update to baer (dot) chen (at) ymail (dot) com

  10. Thanks to you kenmac (Ken) for all you do to keep this international crossword community together and thriving on the interaction sparked by our favourite hobby. It is much valued. A shout out to Gaufrid (Geoff) too, who did so much for so long. It is surely a role requiring much patience. Best wishes for a very Happy Christmas to you and yours, as well as to all the bloggers and contributors to the site. I am looking forward to more cryptic fun in 2023 – Happy New Year!

  11. I started trying to do cryptic crosswords during first lockdown in late May 2020.

    At first I just used to go straight to your site with my paper copy of the Guardian crossword and work my way down through the clues. As Rob T @ 2 said I would never have managed without this site.

    And I do love doing crosswords tho’ have a long way to go till I am vaguely proficient. And I like seeing the comments and making mine.

    So thanks to all.

  15. Hello kenmac,

    Thanks so much for picking up the reins from Gaufrid and for doing such an excellent job in making sure that the site continues to thrive.

    Best wishes for the festive season to you and to the rest of the Fifteensquared community.

  16. Thanks kenmac, and Gaufrid, and all the bloggers , and commenters, for giving us this daily dose of joy. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

  17. I must have missed the previous request for donations, possibly because I only come here on occasions when I’m stumped. I’ll put that right when I get home.

  19. Hard to express the pleasure (and much needed help) that you and the bloggers provide each day. My heartfelt thanks for making this one of the truly positive experiences in the general cesspit of the internet. I so enjoy the many discussions about GK, language and permitted crossword rules even if I often feel unqualified to contribute. The almost complete lack of rudeness and rancour even in heated disagreements makes this a safe space for all.
    Thank you and merry Christmas.

  20. Thanks Ken, was a pleasure to meet you in and many others in York this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to setters, bloggers, commenters, and lurkers.

  21. Best wishes to everyone. I really miss going to York for the annual get-together but my wife’s medical conditions make it impractical. Thanks to you all.

  22. Thank you kenmac – and Gaufrid too! – for all the work you do. This is a brilliant site: the combined wit and intelligence of your good selves and your team of bloggers are a daily delight.
    Happy Holidays to you all!

  24. Merry Christmas to you, Ken, and to all others who contribute to the site, not forgetting Gaufrid, of course.

    I do hope Sil is OK.

  27. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a scrooge wrt Christmas, but I would like to echo the thanks and compliments above to Gaufrid, Ken and all the bloggers, contributors and lurkers.

    So to one and all a Merry Christmas/Bah Humbug (please delete as appropriate) 😉

  29. Many thanks to you kenmac, and all the bloggers, setters and commenters. My day starts with a visit to the crossword, followed by the blog. Great site.

  30. Too late now to say Merry Christmas now.
    But Happy New Year to everyone Here There and Everywhere!
    Whether it will be a happy new year for me has to be seen.
    I the first week of this year I suffered a stroke, something that has turned my life completely upside down. Fortunately my speech is not affected but since that unholy moment I cannot walk anymore,not even one or two steps.
    I spent five months in Addenbrooke’s hospital .After that I moved to various care homes. Now I am in Askham village community,near March,Cambridgeshire,a specialist rehab centre.Despite much physio progress is very slow, too slow I would say. My left arm and my left leg are not doing what I would like them to do. Solving crosswords has almost come to a standstill,surely setting has.
    Best wishes to everyone enjoying this splendid site!

  31. Dear Sil
    It is so good to hear from you!!
    I had heard about your stroke but all the news was second-hand and I had no way of getting in touch with you but you have been very much in my thoughts and those of others who have asked if I have any news of you.
    I so hope the progress, however slow, will continue and that you will keep in touch here with your many friends at 15².
    With very best wishes and love, Eileen x

  32. Sil!

    I actually exclaimed aloud on seeing that you had posted.

    It really is so good to hear from you, and I echo everything else Eileen said above too.

    Sending hugs and all best wishes for much better progress in 2023.

    Kitty x

  34. Really glad to hear from you, Sil. You’ve been very much missed among the crossword fraternity. Hope
    next year really is good for you.

    Shows how trivial crosswords are in the grand scheme of things, of course.

  35. Oh Sil, that is a difficult story to read. I have wondered why I haven’t seen you on 15². You are one of the contributors from whom I have learned a great deal about the art of solving. I do wish your recovery was progressing more quickly, as you sound very frustrated. The patience we learn from solving cryptics would have been sorely tested over this past year. Let’s hope that 2023 is a much brighter one for you. Thinking of you with great fondness across the distance. Warm regards from Australia.

  36. I’ve been taking a complete break from crosswords over the Christmas weekend so late to this, but very happy to hear from Sil. Thanks to everyone for their blogs and comments this year. I’ll carry on bringing new blood into the world of daily crosswords in the year ahead.

  38. Welcome back Sil so glad you’re able to tell us. Hope your body recovers enough to see you sometime. Much missed mate.

  41. Sil, thank you for bringing us up to date on your condition. Like many others, I have on occasion exchanged (sometimes divergent) views with you on this site, and the conversation has always been most enjoyable. May I add my wishes for continued progress on your road to recovery. I hope to see you back on 15squared before too long.

  42. Great to hear from you, Sil. When I rediscovered fifteensquared in 2021 after several (12?) years away (you won’t remember me – I had a different pseudonym then), I was very glad to see you among the old names still active here and have often wondered what became of you. Here’s hoping 2023 deals you a better hand. Best of luck with the ongoing recovery.

  43. Unlike some, Sil, I hadn’t heard any news of you until a post on yesterday’s blog, and then essexboy posted a link to this page. Best of wishes to you for a less frustrating 2023, and thanks for bringing us all into your story.

  44. I heartily echo ALL the comments already expressed and thank everyone for the pleasure I get from this site. The erudition and wit of the contributors is just wonderful. I don’t contribute much, but I lurk a lot (and laugh). It’s an extra dimension of enjoyment to the crossword solving experience. So thank you, everyone, and all the best for the coming year.

    Sil, I have really missed your contributions to the forum. Always insightful and clarifying. Here’s hoping you turn a corner for the best in 2023 and your recovery rate increases exponentially.

  45. Thanks Ken and all bloggers! A very happy holiday season to you as well as all of my fellow commenters.

    Hello Sil – I hope you will progress further and soon.

  48. Christmas this year didn’t leave much time for crosswords but we’re getting back to them now. So, belated Christmas greetings (belated? – we’re still in the 12 days of Christmas!) to all and best wishes for 2023 to Sil and Gaufrid – and, of course, to everyone.

  49. Sil, very good to hear from you – sorry 2022 hasn’t been a good year, but best wishes for better times in 2023. Happy New Year to everyone here.

  50. Happy New Year to all 225 contributors: setters, editors, bloggers, site admins, commenters and lurkers. I really hope it’s a good one.

  51. Best wishes to all for 2023.

    Sil, I’ve missed your comments and your flying the flag for the niceties of cryptic grammar, but had no idea you’d had a stroke.
    I hope your recovery starts to pick up soon.

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