Books I loved

Regarding books one likes to read, in my late teens Mary Webb’s Gone to Earth was my favourite. I shed tears over it. Her other books were lovely also, and I read all Georgette Heyer’s Georgian and Reginey romances.

In later years, I was enthralled by Dorothy Dennett’s Crawford of Lymond (a Scottish saga) and the sweeping Niccolo series, for her knowledge of that period (1470 circa) and lyrical language. There were fourteen in all and I devoured them. Superb!

I also admire W.E.B Griffins Pacific war series and Louis L’amour and Alan le May’s fine westerns. I liked your Delderfield books and loved Ruth Park’s Pink Flannels. I think it should be a set book for schools. I wonder what a delderfield is?

I mustn’t forget The Catcher in the Rye and Gone with the Wind. In my bookcase, there’s a dilapidated copy of 1066 And All That (pub 1933). Its mangled version of English history still makes me giggle.
I know I have mentioned too many books but there’s a long history of reading behind me starting with dad’s set of Arthur Mee’s encyclopaedies, which together with a Rhode Island Red rooster called Scaramouche were my companions when we were living near Mackay in the early 1930s.

I have a Toby jug depicting Sairey Gamp with her brolly forming the handle. She looks a right old boozy character as a lot of midwives were in that era. “Gin was mother’s milk to ‘er”, also “Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for thrippence”. Who wrote that last quote?

It’s 2am and a grey owl just beat on my kitchen window; maybe after a gecko, or perhaps it recognises another of its kind in me, a night bird.

Enid Smith
Deception Bay, Qld

All references on hand

I have put in my first DIY entry. The reference books I used were Webster’s Int. Dictionary 1960 edition, Australian Crossword Dictionary 1987, Wordsworth Crossword Dictionary 1994 and Complete Crossword Dictionary Miriam Webster 2007.
I didn’t have to use my books very much for the grid – I found I need them more for the clues. I am looking forward to the next BIG and working on the DIY again. Of all your books I like BIG and Holiday the best.
Hilda Snowden
Hallett Cove, SA

Love the new Mega Mix

Thank you for making the Mega bi-monthly! It is an extra treat for us as we sit over pots of coffee doing the Stinkers and Bafflers and Demons together and culling our septuagenarian brains for past knowledge before we hunt through the reference books, the atlas or the Internet on my FRED (Flaming Ridiculous Electronic Device) or Sister Marianne’s laptop. And we just love the new Mega Mix - what a lovely combination of cryptic clues and general knowledge.

We marvel as we work through the Mega, Colossus and Holiday Collection, how you go on finding new arcane clues to exercise us. Keep it up - we would get withdrawal symptoms without our Lovatts!

Eileen M Byrne
Kenmore, Qld

Slumber solves the clues

Why is it, when I do a cryptic crossword,
I get stuck on a word,
I go to sleep,
when I awake, I can solve the clues,
very easily,
then I repeat it again the next night,
it works for me,
why is it?!?

Diana Saunders
Mirrabooka, WA

Can stop stretching out Starhunts

Thank you so much for your generosity in increasing the number of your magazines. In the past, especially with the Starhunts, I limit the number of puzzles that I do each day so that I won’t run out before the next one arrives! Thank you again, Christine. Congratulations to you on what you do to entertain so many people!
Sr. Veronica Rahill
Sunshine West, Vic

Life goes on

I’ve submitted my first DIY entry for a long time. Since Black Saturday I have been unable to send in my efforts as I found my clues were all dark, dreary and sad, and it was obvious that living so close to the devastating fires had negatively affected my thought process. So I am glad that now I am able to put together a reasonable normal crossword at last. I am grateful that life goes on.
Patricia Murphy
Wandin North, Vic

Laurel’s favourite books

You ask in BIG Magazine what are my favourite books? I love anything by Jeffrey Archer and have just finished ‘Paths of Glory’, a fictional? biography of George Mallory based on letters written to his wife Ruth. After reading it the reader is left with the question, “Who was the  first man to conquer Mount Everest, Edmund Hillary in 1953 or George Mallory in 1924?” I believe in the latter (if the information about the photo is correct). Regardless it is a riveting story about a courageous man and his party of climbers.

Laurel Powell
Oatley, NSW

Where do I start?

Hi Christine

I have recently turned 77 years old and I receive The Works, Mega and Code Cracker magazine. One of your readers asked where people started each crossword and my response is that I start each crossword all over the place depending on my mood , eg. The Colossus is started in the centre and I do it in an asymmetric pattern. Keep up the good work. From a Happy Puzzler. Leslie Morris

A Total Family Affair

Thank you so much for all the books of crosswords and puzzles. When they arrive in the mail it is a dash to see who will start them first.

We photocopy the competitions and all the family work on them.  My son particularly likes the cryptic and my husband does the pop words.

I get to finish them all off. If I don’t know the answers then I phone my sister to swap answers. If she doesn’t know then I pass them on to my father-in-law and they are usually finished off.

I just need to leave myself enough time to write them all out because they are actually mine (my name is on the envelope).

We really get into it all and see how quickly we can get them done.  It is so much fun - we can hardly wait for the next issue.  Then once the competitions have been posted we have the other crosswords to do.

Janelle Traeger
Mypolonga, SA

Clever Creator of Colossus Cover

Whoopee!! Colossus 122 has come! I live again! I absolutely LOVE the front cover - what a clever girl is Angela Robins. My congratulations all round.  I look through the Colossus before I leap and ‘bury’ myself in it for the next few days.

Margaret Worrington
Belfield, NSW

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