duncanshiell

Born in 1948. I retired from full-time work in May 2007, after 37 years with Ordnance Survey and associated bodies and now have time to devote to crosswords, something not available for many years. Product of 17 years in the Scottish education system, but lived overseas or in southern England for virtually all of the time thereafter. I moved back to Scotland in 2010. Regular road runner and recently returned to orienteering and golf after a 35 year gap. Developed interested in cryptic crosswords in the mid 1960s (Scotsman, Sunday Express skeleton), but working overseas and then raising a family, meant dropping out of crossword solving for about 30 years. Now a regular solver of Times, Guardian, Independent, Inquisitor, Listener and Magpie crosswords. Reasonably regular finisher of the first four. Started blogging in late 2007. Any solving ability far outweighs any clueing ability. Krypton Factor contestant 1983; eliminated in the first round, but the obstacle course finish made good television!

Gemelo 4

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Gemelo presents his fourth Observer Sunday cryptic crossword and gives me my first opportunity to blog his Sunday work.  I have, however, blogged a number of puzzles under his alter ego, Twin, in the Independent series.

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Financial Times Sunday 104 – World by Gaff

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This is my first venture into the Financial Times Sunday World puzzles that focus on a particular place in the World, with a number of the clues just providing wordplay to an answer associated with that particular place.  It’s a different place each month.

The full blog is now available

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Independent 12104 / Ouroboros

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I think this is a debut puzzle by Ouroborus, so Welcome!.  Dictionaries tell me that ouruboros means a representation of a serpent with its tail in its mouth, symbolizing completion, totality, endlessness, etc.  This puzzle therefore may be tricky.

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