Now We Are Seven …

by

… (with apologies to A. A. Milne)

Today is the seventh anniversary of the site’s inauguration. Since the first blog (Guardian 23,910 / Janus) was published on Fifteensquared more than 8,700 posts have been added, by 57 different bloggers, and these have attracted over 102,500 comments. These figures are rising rapidly because over 100 blogs and around 2,000 comments are added each month.

My thanks to all who have contributed to Fifteensquared – bloggers, those who comment and of course the setters without whom we would have no raison d’être.

30 comments on “Now We Are Seven …”

  1. Gaufrid,

    Thank YOU for all your hard work and dedication, and for creating something that is worth a visit on a daily basis.

    Fifteensquared is a gift to all solvers, at all levels of experience, and for us setters too.

    All best,

    John Halpern (aka Paul)

  2. Words are inadequate to express the amount we owe to you Gaufrid. So I will resort to toasting you in single malt. Others may do likewise.

  4. I wholeheartedly second Conrad’s comment – but it will be a wine glass that I raise later on, as I don’t share my late Scottish husband’s passion. 😉

    [Wow, matt, that’s scary – I hope Gaufrid doesn’t adopt that one!]

    He’s too modest to advertise it himself but there’s an interesting interview with Gaufrid posted today on Shuchi’s site:

    http://www.crosswordunclued.com/

  5. This site rekindled my interest in the cryptic crossword, which had been dormant for rather a long time. It rapidly became a bookmarked favourite – and an unexpected consequence is that it has introduced me to a lot of interesting people. A great resource.

    Profound thanks, Gaufrid, for your secure helmsmanship.

  6. Congratulations on keeping a pretty well-disciplined ship. I hope no one will get the seven-year itch and that through your endeavours a few more stray visitors will learn some of the secrets of our cryptic art.

  7. A great resource indeed. Many congratulations to Gaufrid and his team of bloggers on the site’s seventh anniversary.

  8. Congratulations to Geoff and also big thanks to Neil Wellard who got the ball rolling, inspired by Peter Biddlecombe’s efforts on the Times blog.

  9. Congratulations to Neil for creating and Gaufrid for continuing to provide this amazing resource. As one of the first bloggers, I think I was the fourth name blogging the fifth puzzle, it’s incredible how the site has flourished and changed over the seven years. In my first blog I barely covered half the clues!

  10. Yes, I think in those early days there was a concern that newspapers’ phone lines (for answers) might be adversely affected if all answers were given. No one seems to worry too much about that any more. I was involved in the site from the very start.

  11. Congratulations Geoff – and thanks for your hard work and dedication in maintaining this site to a consistently high standard. I would drink a toast to you with your “favourite real ale” if I knew what it was!

  12. Many thanks to Gaufrid and NeilW for providing such a valuable resource. It’s also great fun to interact virtually with a variety of other solvers and bloggers.

    My solving has improved, although I’m still not great at it. It has also enthused me to start compiling, which has provided additional entertainment.

  13. There’s a lot to thank Fifteensquared for. Not just blogs and comments either; there’s all those enjoyable Sloggers and Betters events too (wouldn’t have known about them without 15sq)! Thanks, Gaufrid.

    And btw the i paid its own tribute yesterday by reprinting the 2nd anniversary puzzle from the Indy.

  14. Without Fifteensquared I would simply not have been where I am now.
    We can’t give enough credits to NeilW and Gaufrid.

    Like many others I discovered Fifteensquared purely by accident.
    Sometimes I’d wish that the puzzle pages of the Guardian, the FT and the Independent would mention this unbeatable site to attract even more solvers that are unaware of its existence.

  17. My wholehearted thanks go to all those responsible for this site. Congratulations on your 7th anniversary (is it wool or copper?) and long may it continue!

    As Gervase @5 commented, I too was a dormant crossword enthusiast for many years and was re-inspired by my accidental arrival at this site. I have found it to be a perfect accompaniment to my daily crossword solving )especially at the beginning when I was clearing out the cobwebs).

    I now look forward to reading the blogs as much as I do to solving the crosswords themselves.

  18. Thanks to all for your kind and encouraging comments.
    @Conrad – Make it a Glenmorangie and I’ll join you.
    @Eileen – Enjoy it while you can. As you know, there is a world shortage of wine.
    @cholecyst – several favourites but the one I liked best was Thwaites bitter (when kept properly, which I did). Even better with a Glenmorangie chaser.
    @alan_c – thanks for the info re the i. I wasn’t aware of that.
    @One But Asleep – duly worked out but usually you’ve been up so late ;-).

  19. Thanks and Congratulations to Gaufrid and the rest of the crew, past and present.

    This site helped me get back into solving, after many fallow years.

    Dwarf evens oddly the short, desperate third bay anniversary (5,7,8)

    (apologies to fans of smooth surfaces, misdirection and subtlety)

  20. “@Eileen – Enjoy it while you can. As you know, there is a world shortage of wine.”

    Yes, I’d heard that – horrors! This week, Sainsbury’s have their ‘Buy 6 save 25%’ – but I’m wondering how much storage space I have! 😉

  24. Congratulations, and many thanks, to Gaufrid – for everything you do to keep this site ticking over.

    As a blogger of the more esoteric(?) Telegraph Enigmatic Variations puzzles, I suspect EV blogs count for but a tiny proportion of those hits and comments (;+>)…but it is a pleasure and an honour to be a part of this phenomenon…

  27. Well done Geoff, the Traiftes here look forward to our blogs and seeing the comments.

    Marvellous piece of work.

    I will also add it is surprising what spin-off’s you get from a site like this – the various blogging tools to produce the perfect crossword blog etc.

    The excellent:

    http://www.crosswords2.drurys.org/

    and my own (originally just coded for me to make my life easier, but it became a good tool):

    http://www.nick.ukfsn.org/main/15s/

    And I guess a lot of other crossword blogging sites that popped up all around.

    We are proud to be part of it all 🙂

    Nick & Lorraine

  28. Late to the party, but all of the above (except maybe Matt’s owl, which looks a bit scary for a Gaufrid avatar …)

    I reckon I stumbled across 225 about three and a half years ago, so I’m still the new kid on the blog in one sense; but it’s been great to have the site here to help me with my solving. And because of the get-togethers that have been organised by various members of the site, I’ve met a lot of interesting folk, have been impressed by their welcoming nature, and count many of them as friends now.

    Thanks to Gaufrid for all his work in administering the site, which has made all of these things possible. (And please let us know when the next whip-round for a fiver is necessary to pay the hosting fees …)

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