NealH

I've been doing crosswords off and on since university back in the 1980s. I used to do the Guardian, but defected to the Independent a year ago. My solving standard is still not what I'd like. I'd love to be able to knock off a crossword in 10 minutes, but find I'm still getting stuck for long periods when the inspiration doesn't quite arrive. I once had a go at compiling crosswords but, after a very rude rejection for the editor of the Telegraph, I didn't bother any further.

Independent 9,681 by Alchemi

Mon October 23, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

Enjoyable and accessible puzzle.

Independent 9,663 by Vigo

Mon October 2, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

A lively and well-constructed crossword.

Independent 9,645 by Alchemi

Mon September 11, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

I found this fairly hard-going and wasn’t able to finish it on my first run through. However, returning after an adjournment, it did yield fairly quickly.

Independent 9,627 by Vigo

Mon August 21, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable outing from Vigo of moderate difficulty.

Independent 9,609 by Daedalus

Mon July 31, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

An absorbing puzzle with an excellent variety of clues.

Independent 9,591 by Serpent

Mon July 10, 2017 at 10:18 amMon July 10, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

A good puzzle with some ingenious clues.

Independent 9,573 by Hoskins

Mon June 19, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

A nice start-the-week sort of crossword with lots of well written clues.

Independent 9,555 by Knut

Mon May 29, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

A highly political puzzle with some great clues.

Independent 9,537 by Vigo

Mon May 8, 2017 at 3:07 pmMon May 8, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable outing from the reliable Vigo.

Independent 9,519 by Alchemi

Mon April 17, 2017 at 7:38 pmMon April 17, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

This was one of those themed puzzles that can be difficult to start with if you don’t get the gateway clue quickly.

Independent 9,501 by Gila

Mon March 27, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

Quite a tough puzzle in places with some neatly deceptive clues.

Independent 9,483 by Peter

Mon March 6, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

An enjoyable and fairly easy puzzle with some amusing clues.

Independent 9,465 by Dutch

Mon February 13, 2017 at 7:58 pmMon February 13, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

Top-notch stuff from Dutch. There was a good balance of clues and some had excellent surface readings.

Independent 9,447 by Vigo

Mon January 23, 2017 at 9:00 am by NealH

An excellent and absorbing puzzle with lots of very subtle touches.

Independent 9,429 by Punk

Mon January 2, 2017 at 8:12 pm by NealH

A very late appearance of this on the Indy website means the blog has been considerably delayed. It’s not giving too much away to say there was a theme of cities.