First of all, a slight retraction. I wrote in the editorial to Issue 101 that the GCHQ Challenge seemed likely to be less of a challenge than the Magpie. This was based, as I admitted, on having a go at a few of the puzzles that showed up early on during the challenge, and finding them to be (more…)
I believe we’re not allowed to reprint it here, but I’d like to draw the attention of subscribers to Simon Anthony’s open letter to Simon Long, on The Times’s letters page today. And in pleading with Simon L to stop solving the Listener AFTER the record has been broken, I don’t think Simon A can be accused of self-interest!
February 1st 1930 saw the publication of the first Times Crossword, and this event is commemorated at least twice in the media this year. Firstly the Times is publishing three historical puzzles to intrigue its readers, from 1940, 1960 and 1980, and then The One Show, a daily BBC documentary magazine, is looking at the mystery of the cryptic crossword. (more…)
Greenland: where better to escape from everyday life? Or so I thought in early August, as I looked forward to a group walking holiday in the Tasiilaq area (more…)
This narrative is pretty close to the thought processes involved during the final of The Times Crossword Championship 2008. (more…)
These two yellow-billed magpies (Pica nuttalli) were spotted on the lawn of one of our eagle-eyed (but thankfully not eagle-taloned) solvers. (more…)
This photograph was taken in the Chobe national park in Botswana in early May 2008. If you look closely in the branches of the tree, you might be able to make out a rare migrant visitor, the pica pica, or Magpie. This one has been caught and tagged - just the 65th such individual known to science. (more…)
Here is one of the esteemed Magpie editors, Simon Anthony (right) and one of our esteemed subscribers, David McNeill (left) warming up for some Magpie solving at the World Sudoku Championships in Goa (more…)
Owing to a combination of misfortune and ineptitude, the web site was unavailable from Monday the 14th of April until the middle of Tuesday the 15th. (more…)
We’re always on the lookout for new ways to improve the Magpie, and we recently managed to secure the services of a business manager with an excellent reputation. He is Adolf Y Polaris, of AIST in the City. This addition to the Magpie team fills a crucial gap in terms of market awareness and customer focus. Here’s how he sets out his mission for the coming months: (more…)
