bridgesong

Born in 1947, I remember as a child tackling the Skeleton in my father’s Sunday Express before moving on to The Times at school with a classmate. For 20 years or so after leaving school I had no time for crosswords but started again in the 1980s, teaching myself to do Azed (with help from Don Manley’s Crossword Manual). Now retired after a career as a lawyer which culminated in appointment as a District Judge, I do the Guardian every Saturday, usually with my friend and neighbour Timon (who introduced me to fifteensquared). I also enter the Azed monthly competitions but have never done better than the very occasional VHC. More recently I have become a subscriber to the Magpie magazine and submit entries monthly, without yet winning a pen. My pseudonym comes from two of my other leisure interests, bridge and singing.

Guardian Easter Prize No 25304 / Araucaria

Sun May 1, 2011 at 2:31 pmSat April 30, 2011 at 12:09 am by bridgesong

I solved most of this puzzle on the train from London to Lyon, and found it an excellent way of making a long journey shorter. Unfortunately there was no online version available so … Read more >>

Azed 2027

Sun April 10, 2011 at 12:39 am by bridgesong

After a few minutes in which simply nothing occurred to me, the puzzle suddenly yielded and I was able to complete it reasonably rapidly, although only with the help of Chambers. As always, … Read more >>

Guardian Prize No 25,286 by Araucaria

Sat April 9, 2011 at 12:01 am by bridgesong

Solving time: about 40 minutes (I expect my predecessor Rightback completed it in single figures!). There’s been some comment on the site in the week that this puzzle appeared about how some weekday … Read more >>

Guardian Prize No 25268 by Pasquale

Sat March 19, 2011 at 4:01 pmSat March 19, 2011 at 12:02 am by bridgesong

Solving time: about two hours, but we were watching the United v Arsenal game at the time. I acknowledge the substantial contribution from my friend and neighbour Timon, but the blog (and any … Read more >>

Azed 2021 plain

Sun February 27, 2011 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

I found this very hard, partly because I had never heard of either of the two 13 letter anagrams at 15 and 29 across. There were several other obscure words and I will … Read more >>

Guardian Prize No 25,250 by Paul

Sat February 26, 2011 at 12:06 am by bridgesong

I thought that this was an easier than usual puzzle for a prize competition, and it took me about an hour and a half. The theme – Leonardo and the Ninja Turtles – … Read more >>

Genius 91 by Tramp

Sun February 6, 2011 at 12:04 am by bridgesong

Solving time : about a day and a half. I found this hard, partly because of a grammatical error in the instructions which made them more obscure than was necessary. There were two … Read more >>

Guardian Prize Puzzle No 25,232 by Araucaria – a river runs through it

Sat February 5, 2011 at 12:31 pmSat February 5, 2011 at 12:05 am by bridgesong

Solving time: about an hour, although that left three clues unsolved. Many thanks to my neighbour and solving partner Timon, for his help with this and many other crosswords and for introducing me … Read more >>

Azed 2015 – a sprint finish?

Sun January 16, 2011 at 12:03 am by bridgesong

A 13 by 11 grid this week,which is in fact one of Azed’s standard sizes. We were spoiled recently with a 13 x 13 grid (2012). Still, I shouldn’t grumble as I got … Read more >>

Guardian Prize 25214 by Paul

Sat January 15, 2011 at 12:03 am by bridgesong

Solving time : about two hours, and it was some hours later that I finally understood a couple of the solutions. A very enjoyable challenge with all the liberties we have come to … Read more >>

Azed 2009 – say a prayer

Sun December 5, 2010 at 12:01 am by bridgesong

A mixture this week of clever clues and others made relatively easy by their use of 2 or 3 letter words which regular solvers will quickly have recognised (e.g. 12, 16 and 20 … Read more >>

Azed 2002

Sun October 17, 2010 at 12:01 am by bridgesong

A fairly easy offering this week, I thought, although there were a couple of four letter words that required some care. As I have done before, here’s a link to the pdf of … Read more >>

Azed 1995

Sun August 29, 2010 at 12:01 am by bridgesong

I managed to solve about three-quarters of this puzzle without any assistance from Chambers or the internet. It’s surprising what being on holiday in remote places can do for the brain. However, I … Read more >>

Guardian Genius 85: a Yarborough

Mon August 2, 2010 at 12:01 am by bridgesong

I found this easier than some recent Genius puzzles. There was only one obscure word and most of the clues were fairly straightforward. The requirement here was to identify how the answers to … Read more >>

Azed 1988

Sun July 11, 2010 at 8:57 amSun July 11, 2010 at 12:01 am by bridgesong

I found this puzzle considerably harder than usual, partly as a result of my failure early on to solve any of the four long clues which form the border to the puzzle. I … Read more >>