John

Born 1946. Since retiring (maths teacher) have spent an increasing amount of time on crosswords, something that was impossible before – am not in the sub-ten minutes league and probably never will be. Do The Times every day (more often than not in over half an hour), also an assortment of other puzzles. Have been doing Azed monthly for some years and entering his clue-setting competitions, occasionally with some success (I even won once, have had 36 VHCs and 138 HCs — yes, I keep a record, sad isn't it) but not enough for my liking. I've set a few crosswords: five in Oxford Today, a few on Derek Harrison's website, and five in The Independent, under the name Vernon. Also play a lot of chess and golf, although as I age I'm getting weaker at both.

Independent 7427/Punk

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My impression is that we haven’t seen Punk for a while and if so he makes a welcome return. Some of these clues are memorable, if one could remember them, and my only … Read more >>

Independent 7422/Raich

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A very nice offering from Raich, who has been an excellent addition to the Independent stable this year. I even saw the Nina. Something that many people get very excited about happened on … Read more >>

Independent 7413/Tees

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A nice crossword from Tees. Having solved 7ac and 9ac first and had a good idea about 20/23ac I feared a football-related crossword. Mercifully, apart from one or two answers, apparently no. Perhaps … Read more >>

Independent7398/Phi

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Rather a strong crossword from Phi today. Everything seems to be soundly and well clued, and the one or two that as usual I can’t understand will I’m sure be perfectly well explained … Read more >>

Azed 1985

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The usual pleasurable experience. All the clues are utterly sound and you know you’ll get there in the end, even if the progress is a bit slow. The words are — in this … Read more >>

Independent 7374/Phi

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The usual nice cryptic from Phi, with some very good clues as always. One which utterly defeats me, but which people will I’m sure fall over themselves to explain. As for a Nina, the … Read more >>

Independent 7360/Dac

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As usual, an immaculate little crossword from Dac, with elegant well-constructed clues. The explanation of one of the answers defeats me, but it will almost certainly be immediately made clear. (As I did … Read more >>

Independent 7350/Phi

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An excellent crossword from Phi, with an extremely modern phrase in it that defeated me. As for disclosing a Nina, I can’t be accused of this today, for either there isn’t one or I … Read more >>