A couple of months ago...
Showing posts with label Trafalgar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trafalgar. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Wednesday, 4 June 2025
Vetinari at the National Gallery...
He is in disguise as Don Justino de Neve. 1665. By Bartolome Esteban Murillo.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Spectacular
My favourite crossword compiler, Araucaria, recently composed a puzzle around Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. To be completed on Trafalgar Day (October 21st), the answers included lots of words linked to the theme (Nelson, Hardy and so forth).
In fact, he went further, and one clue only works on Trafalgar Day, 2010 - as the answer refers to the fact that the previous day was 20/10/2010 (see also earlier), and thus could only work on this particular Trafalgar Day, ever, in the whole history of mankind. While another clue builds on that to give the previous day as 'Tuesday' - hence a further clue that only works on that specific day.
All of this was signalled by the title of the crossword 'A puzzle for today'.
And so of course on Thursday, October 21st, 2010, Trafalgar Day, the Guardian botched the whole thing and printed the wrong crossword.
We were served up one by Bonxie which I recognised from a couple of weeks earlier - 8th October according to Fifteensquared. I hadn't done that well with it, but it was instantly recognisable because of the unusually-interlinked Across clues.
A quite spectacular mistake (if admittedly not that important in the greater scheme of things).
It's a pity, because the crossword that should have been printed is really quite wonderful - spectacular even, and well worth a go. You can find it at http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/cryptic/25147 (not, I think, the link given in a short apology the paper published the next day), and the full solution with comments is as usual available on Fifteensquared.
In fact, he went further, and one clue only works on Trafalgar Day, 2010 - as the answer refers to the fact that the previous day was 20/10/2010 (see also earlier), and thus could only work on this particular Trafalgar Day, ever, in the whole history of mankind. While another clue builds on that to give the previous day as 'Tuesday' - hence a further clue that only works on that specific day.
All of this was signalled by the title of the crossword 'A puzzle for today'.
And so of course on Thursday, October 21st, 2010, Trafalgar Day, the Guardian botched the whole thing and printed the wrong crossword.
We were served up one by Bonxie which I recognised from a couple of weeks earlier - 8th October according to Fifteensquared. I hadn't done that well with it, but it was instantly recognisable because of the unusually-interlinked Across clues.
A quite spectacular mistake (if admittedly not that important in the greater scheme of things).
It's a pity, because the crossword that should have been printed is really quite wonderful - spectacular even, and well worth a go. You can find it at http://www.guardian.co.uk/crosswords/cryptic/25147 (not, I think, the link given in a short apology the paper published the next day), and the full solution with comments is as usual available on Fifteensquared.
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Greenwich, Saturday Evening
The last Saturday in June.
Out for a birthday meal (not mine) and a river walk in Greenwich. These photos were taken from outside the Trafalgar, looking at the Dome further downriver past Nelson's statue.
These two show the river scene a little better. The boat is a touristy, cum events boat decked outlike an old Mississippi paddle steamer. As one of the lads mentioned, it would have been more belevable if the rear paddles had turned at least as fast as the water was flowing past!
Strolling back, we encountered this troupe of strange people performing on the plaza next to where the Cutty Sark is being rebuilt.
The performers were, as you can see, decked out in long black robes, and carried and played a series of peculiarly-shaped musical instruments.
But the really peculiar thing about them was the way they moved around; see the video:
I can only explain this by assuming they had Segways of some form stuffed inside their cassocks. Oh well, at least someone has found a use for them... On the other hand, they are five thousand pounds each - surely not?
Out for a birthday meal (not mine) and a river walk in Greenwich. These photos were taken from outside the Trafalgar, looking at the Dome further downriver past Nelson's statue.
These two show the river scene a little better. The boat is a touristy, cum events boat decked outlike an old Mississippi paddle steamer. As one of the lads mentioned, it would have been more belevable if the rear paddles had turned at least as fast as the water was flowing past!
Strolling back, we encountered this troupe of strange people performing on the plaza next to where the Cutty Sark is being rebuilt.
The performers were, as you can see, decked out in long black robes, and carried and played a series of peculiarly-shaped musical instruments.
But the really peculiar thing about them was the way they moved around; see the video:
I can only explain this by assuming they had Segways of some form stuffed inside their cassocks. Oh well, at least someone has found a use for them... On the other hand, they are five thousand pounds each - surely not?
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