Christine Lovatt’s Hello Column
Christine’s Hello column appears monthly in Lovatts BIG Crossword magazine
The Word Weather
Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
Since the beginning of recorded history we have tried to forecast the weather. Today, we use sophisticated technology, but for centuries sailors, shepherds and farmers [more…]
Stimulating Sudoku
Celebrate 200 issues of Handy Sudoku!
This month we are celebrating a mind-boggling milestone: 200 issues of Handy Sudoku! One of our most popular titles, Handy Sudoku is the best fun with numbers you can have. Though it might look tricky at first glance, Sudoku puzzles require logical thinking, not maths skills – everyone has it in [more…]
The Goat Song of Greece
Tragedy is from the Greek word tragoidia meaning ‘goat-song’. Hmm, sounds a bit strange but in ancient Greece, groups of men joined together in a chorus to sing poetry, wearing goat-skins. The chorus would tell a story in song, and one man would separate from the chorus to argue against the story – and [more…]
Dazzling Days of April
From April Fools’ Day to Earth Day and Easter to Ramadan, there are several important dates and anniversaries commemorated in April all over the world.
Did you know that the ancient Romans called April Aprilis, from the verb aperire meaning “to open”? This is thought to allude to April being a season of Spring in the northern hemisphere, [more…]
The March Hare
Since his first appearance in Lewis Carrol’s classic Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, the March Hare has become a well-recognised and much loved literary figure. A wacky co-host of the tea party that Alice stumbles across, fond of nonsense, jokes, and puns, the March Hare is just one character that reflects the zany madness of [more…]
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world on March 8 to recognise women for their achievements, to both highlight and work towards addressing barriers that continue to perpetuate gender inequality, and to reflect on the progress that has been made.
The very first International Women’s Day was held on March 19th, 1911, born from [more…]
You, ye, ya’ll & youse
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You” – Dr Seuss. One of the most important words we use in conversation is ‘you’. It exists in several different forms and acts in different roles in languages from all over the globe – as [more…]
Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day puzzle lovers!
If there’s one topic that has inspired writers, artists, poets, and wordsmiths across cultures for generations, it’s love. From first love to last love, romantic to platonic, unrequited love to love that is returned, the love shared between friends, family members, and spouses – love is all around. It is, [more…]
New Year New Words
The arrival of the New Year provides us an excellent excuse to explore some of the newest words and concepts that have been added to the English language from our everyday vernacular – from deepfake and fan art to WFH and PPE.
Most of the words we use in the English language today are of [more…]