notes
Saturday, 25 January 2003cryptics decoded
A great British obsession. An extensive extract from Sandy Balfour's 'Pretty Girl In Crimson Rose (8): A Memoir Of Love, Exile And Crosswords' where he traces how he became hooked on the Guardian's cryptic crossword. Along the way he draws the reader along with some delightful solutions and favourite clues, and turns the light on to the setters - Araucaria, Rufus, Pasquale, Enigmatist and Bunthorne. [Guardian Unlimited]
The piece also includes reference to how once "the managing editor of the Times told me the old newspaper maxim: "They come for the news; they stay for the features." And in particular they stay for the obituaries and the crossword.
A more recent maxim I've heard very indirectly from the people responsible for distributing the English Telegraph weekly edition in Australia is that the main reason people take the paper is in fact the obituaries, which are excellent and tned to set the standard.
