Welcome to my Desk, where you’ll find all sorts of items to hold your interest. Unlike my real office desk, which is cluttered with books, files, news cuttings and the remnants of my lunch, this Online Desk will be efficient and easy to navigate.
Learn some of the tricks of solving those weird cryptic crosswords on my tutorials page.
If you wonder about the origins of some of our wonderful English expressions, Words & Phrases is the place to find out more.
Read about the puzzling but positive effect Lovatts has on your health in Puzzles & your Health. We’d love to hear from you, so write a letter to Christine’s Mailbag. You might want to comment on my regular column @ Christine’s Hello.
There’s something for everyone here, so come on in!
Latest Posts
Remarkable Ravens
Since ancient times, the raven has been a symbol of death. This could be because it’s a carrion bird, feeding on the flesh of dead animals but there’s also something about the jet-black raven that makes it seem sinister, the sort of bird you might see in a Dracula movie perched eerily on top of the castle wall, looking all-knowing and [more…]
The inspiring history of Mother’s Day
At the close of a Sunday school class in 1876, Ann Jarvis expressed a deeply-held wish; she hoped there would be a day commemorating mothers like her for their peerless service rendered to humanity. At just 12 years old, Anna Jarvis heard her mother’s prayer, and she took it to heart. Two years after her mother’s memorial service, Anna committed herself [more…]
Orbiting Big Words
When we want to describe something truly huge, English gives us some wonderfully dramatic options. These are the words we reach for when ‘big’ just isn’t big enough.
A behemoth is a huge or monstrous creature, or something enormous, such as a big and powerful organisation, first mentioned in the Bible. This is what Job says of the Behemoth in the Old [more…]
Work In Progress
One of the most common spelling mistakes we notice in competition entries is the er/or endings, which usually occur with names of doers – that is, people who do certain jobs.
Why do some doers have ‘er’ endings, such as farmer, baker, minister, lawyer, plumber, banker, teacher or crossword compiler while other doers are spelled ‘or’, such as governor, conductor, sailor or [more…]
A Toast to Burns
Anyone with Scottish ancestry will know that 25th January is a very special day, the birthday of Scotland’s favourite son, poet and songwriter Robert Burns. This day is celebrated more widely than the official national day, St Andrew’s Day. It is known as Burns Night and all around the world, Burns Suppers are held.
You may have come across a clue in [more…]
Puzzling Out the New Year
Although birthdays and Christmas are probably the biggest celebrations in our year, many cultures around the world don’t celebrate birthdays or Christmas. The festival that is observed in the most areas of the world has got to be New Year – although not necessarily on the same date as ours.
The earliest recorded festivities for New Year date back to ancient Babylon, [more…]