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Wessex

We clue this variously as ‘Alfred the Great’s kingdom’, ‘Thomas Hardy’s fictional area’ or even ‘Prince Edward, Earl of …’. So what or where is Wessex? The story of Wessex is really the story of the beginning of England.

Wessex was the Kingdom of the West Saxons, founded around AD 500 by Cerdic. The kingdom [more…]

Comrades In Clues – July BIG Contests

We like to think of ourselves, along with all you good readers, as a happy, puzzling crew, especially when it comes to matters of words; veritable comrades in clues!

The comradeship may have been stretched a bit thin at 9ac in The Demon when we had to disqualify a few entries because of the misspelling [more…]

Hello – October 2009

Many years ago James and I travelled around Australia in a double-decker bus which had been converted into a home. Now we’re repeating history except that we’ll be in a motorhome and we’re about 30 years older.

We’re hitting the road next month to meet and greet our NSW puzzlers on The Lovatts Across & [more…]

Hello – September 2009

Since asking for feedback about your favourite books, I’ve discovered that you puzzlers have a passion for reading.

Vanezza Kirkaldy loves to spend time in the library and re-reads good books. “One that really brought the tears was The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks” she writes. She also loves Frank Dalby Davison’s Dusty and Man Shy [more…]

The Baffler

The Baffler is bafflier,
The Stinker’s demonic.
Our searches are deeper,
We need a MNEMONIC.

El Camino’s trail REAL
We found was quite royal.
We love being baffled.
To Lovatts we’re loyal!

If your sand sea’s an ERG,
Then you’re in the SAHARA.
If your tree seeds are wingèd,
It’s M for SAMARA.

FIACRE? A French word
For an old-fashioned coach.
Don’t GYBE in your yacht
If you don’t [more…]

Perfect prize poem

The weather becomes mighty cold down here,
Normal for this time of year,
When I need a ‘cheerer-uppa’,
My first instinct is to make a ‘cuppa’,
So to win a Bodum mug and teapot,
Which keep my beverage piping hot,
Is a definite plus – they look good too,
And when I settle down to do,
A Lovatts puzzle – or maybe [more…]

Hello – August 2009

Now that winter’s here, how tempting it is to stay at home and rug up warm and cosy. Wrapped up in a duvet*, perhaps. What if you could actually wear your duvet?

Sounds too good to be true, especially if you’re one of those hothouse plants that really feels the cold, but a small Australian [more…]

Crossword solution for recession

The UK Daily Express reported that Britons believe doing crossword puzzles is the answer to beating the recession.

As many as 76%  reckon finding ways to occupy themselves is the key to getting through the credit crunch, a survey found.

And 86% of the 1000 people polled said they found traditional crossword puzzles more stimulating than [more…]

Star Grazing — Starhunts celebrities (Issue 51)

CELEBRITY PROFILES FROM CODE CRACKER STARHUNTS ISSUE 51 – PLEASE MAKE A SELECTION:

 Bill Oddie
James Fleet

 Michael Cera
Michelle Williams

Seth Rogen
 

» Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie, also known as ‘Britain’s best-known birdwatcher’ is an English actor, author, comedian, artist, musician and most recently conservationist and television presenter. 

Bill performed in several Cambridge Footlights productions before writing scripts [more…]