Christine's Hello

Hello – Colossus 215

Some time ago I wrote about my favourite place, Bere Island in Bantry Bay, Ireland, where my mother came from. Readers have since asked to hear more about its history and whether I’ve been back there recently. I return every year and have just spent the summer there. It has a fascinating history. It lies opposite Berehaven Harbour and got its name, according to legend, from an Irish chief Owen Mór who was defeated in battle, fled to Spain and married Princess Beara. When he returned with a great army and navy, he named the area Berehaven in honour of his wife. The prehistoric inhabitants of Bere Island... 

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Latest Prize Winners

Colossus Winners (Issue 217)

BAFFLER No 217 5 x £50 Prize Cheques A Howe, Bristol; Pauline Lewis, Llanrumney;... 

Cryptic Crosswords Winners – Sample Mag

Congratulations to these lucky Cryptic Prize Pack winners: Mrs Jean Culkin, Lancaster,... 

MEGA Winners (Issue 04)

Mighty Mega 1 x £200 E Rollo, Muir of Ord. Mega Mix 1 x £100 I Mitchell, Kings... 

BIG Winners (Issue 206)

BIGCASH No 206 £300 Winner Edgar Probin, Cornwall. 5 x £40 Winners J Critchell,... 

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Lovatts Quiz Trivia Tease

The Judge Sums Up

Asleep on the job – MEGA 3 Contests

The Mega Stinker was as smelly as usual in issue No. 3. It was enough to keep some of you awake especially at 47dn where ‘Wakefulness’ was INSOMNIA and not IMSOMNIA. As you saw the sun come up you may have been tackling 134ac ‘Solar radiation... [Read more or comment]

Christmas birds – BIG Crossword 204 Contests

As this is our Christmas issue I am going to try and stick to writing only about words that make us feel good. Our clue for HALCYON was ‘Golden (past)’ but the word came from a Greek myth about a bird (no not a partridge) and has a Christmas... [Read more or comment]

On the menu – Colossus Crosswords 215 Contests

Have you ever wondered why a ‘Shellfish soup’ is called a BISQUE (Stinker 286ac)? Well I have, so I embarked on some research and still don’t really know. It is the case with many words that their origins are more the stuff of theory... [Read more or comment]

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Mailbag

A puzzling journey

This week I had to travel from Newcastle upon Tyne to Aberystwyth on Tuesday and make the return journey the following day. The two trips totalled over 12 hours (I was thinking I could have flown from Newcastle to Faro, Portugal and back twice in that time!). So you can imagine how grateful I was to have my copy of BIG with me. It kept me fully occupied... [Read more or comment]

Active and energised

Thank you very much for “100 Ways To Boost Your Energy” book which I won for the Starhunt 1 Contest in Big No 201. At 75 your puzzles keep my brain active and I am hopeful this book will do wonders for my energy. Thank you again for the wonderful puzzles books for which I subscribe to three and I try to complete most of the contest ones.... [Read more or comment]

Never without a puzzle book

I was so surprised and delighted to receive a cheque for £50 in the post, for winning the Colossus Crossword Puzzle. I have been fan of Lovatts puzzles for many years – starting in Australia where I would look out for Lovatts Crosswords in magazines. When I moved to the UK around 14 years ago, I was really excited to find that Lovatts had Crossword... [Read more or comment]

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