Hard Times
Edmund Akenhead
Despite the suspension of The Times, I am delighted to report that the Crossword is alive and well and was seen flourishing ill the Piccadilly Hotel last Sunday, where the tenth national final of the Cutty Sark/Times National Crossword Championship took place. The sponsors, Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky, who originated this annual contest for Times Crossword enthusiasts in 1970, refused to be put off by the paper's absence, so that the morale of competitors and compilers alike has been sustained during these arid no-Times months by the seven regional finals in London, Bristol, Edinburgh and other centres which culminated in the National Final with 14 regional qualifiers doing battle with Mr Eric Rodick, the 1978 champion. To many of us one crossword a day is sufficient mental stimulation, but dedicated Times solvers think nothing of tackling four in four half-hour sessions on a Sunday afternoon, with no reference books allowed. This was the programme for the Final. Over a hundred spectators also attacked the puzzles for a whisky prize for the first correct solution. Since crosswords are made to entertain and not to baffle, those chosen for the Final were no harder than ordinary Times puzzles. It was therefore not surprising that six of the 15 finalists solved all four puzzles without error, their order of merit being determined by time bonus points, reflecting their speed in solving. The winner of the Championship (with which goes a silver trophy, a colour television set, a half-gallon of whisky and a weekend for two in Paris) was Roy Dean, a retired diplomat of Bromley, the first-ever winner of the Championship in 1970, who with 86 time bonus points (representing an average solving time of under nine minutes for each puzzle) was six minutes faster, in solving the four puzzles than the runner-up, Dr John Sykes, a lexicographer of Abingdon, and five times previously the national champion. The puzzle shown opposite was the third used in the Championship Final. It was correctly solved within 30 minutes by all the 15 finalists, the fastest individual solving time being between five and a half and six minutes. It might amuse Spectator readers to see if they can equal this performance.
Edmund Akenhead is the Crossword Editor of The Times.
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