Christine Lovatt's Desk

Welcome to Christine's Desk

Here you'll find a variety of puzzle themed items and pieces of information to hold your interest. Learn about some of the wonderful words and phrases in our everyday language, find out about the health benefits of crosswords and puzzles, be entertained by Christine's Hello column… and there's much more on offer. The latest submissions appear below. Thanks for dropping by and we hope you enjoy your visit.

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 [more…]

Light shines on tea stirrer

It was lovely to receive a parcel in the mail last Monday. I have a collection of teaspoons and now I have a Lovatts one as well. The book light is wonderful, now I won’t need to put the bed light on at night when I read.
Keep up the wonderful work you all [more…]

Tea Towel is my Smart Sign

Thank you so much for the tea towel which I am not going to use, but hang on my lounge room wall, to remind me that I am quite smart. I also love the ‘Symply Too Good to be True’ book. Thank you so much for providing the crosswords, I have so much fun [more…]

Joking Around – June BIG contests

Did you hear about the man sitting under a toadstool? He was a real fungi! (Though there wasn’t mushroom under there!)
Toadstools are associated with magical beings in many cultures, but why? Is it because they appear magically overnight, or because they look like colourful pixie caps? Maybe it’s because of the hallucinogenic affects, if [more…]

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 [more…]

Symply too good to be true

I love to collect recipes and am always on the lookout for new ones. So many thanks for the recipes you included in June and July BIG. They’re uncomplicated, economical and a delicious treat for the tastebuds. It’s an added bonus and to me is just as good as winning a prize. Is this [more…]

Women’s Weekly Colossus almost complete

I do the Colossus crossword that you put in the Australian Women’s Weekly to keep myself sane (april 09) and I have only one word left. It has taken a while to complete as I have only a few short moments to myself each day due to two little girls under 6 clamouring for [more…]

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

Of birds, bees and crosswords

I’ve been intending to submit this story for sharing with your subscribers for quite a few years. I think quite enough water has gone under the bridge to get away with it now! It is a wonderful tale of the innocence of youth, and I am sure that even the most sensitive and prudish [more…]