Only a few hours ago I had a chat with Alice Crockett, a Media and Communications student at Melbourne University, who is writing a feature article on cruciverbalists and cruciverbalising as part of her school work.
She’s gonna be chatting to DA on Friday and would love to chat with other cruciverbalists too, so if you’d like to have a chinwag with her as well, send me an email and I can get you in contact with her.
I’d love to talk. My email address is robert.thomson@i-med.com.au
I am happy to help Alice if I can, if she would like to talk to someone who only started looking at cryptic crosswords about 4 months ago. I am, though, at the other end of the spectrum to RobT, who of course has set crosswords himself.
I have been making a study of SMH crosswords in recent weeks to improve my solving skills and so might be able to contribute to Alice’s research a little.
Four months and already onto DA is very impressive stuff, Robin.
Very impressive indeed.
You’re very kind, AS.
A crowd of us go to Byron Bay at Easter each year and a few of us this year said we’d always wanted to do cryptic crosswords and so it started there. I soon found out that there was daylight between the degree of difficulty in solving a DA compared to solving all of the other SMH offerings each week.
Frustrated that I often couldn’t even get the wordplay on Saturdays after looking at DA’s answers, I went searching for a blog and here I am. The DA Trippers have been a huge support and motivation for a beginner and long may that last.
Robin. Thanks for that. There is setting crosswords, and then there is setting crosswords. Like all things in life, there’s a very wide spectrum in the degree of difficulty.
Chatted to the delightful Alice!
Thank you so much everyone!