Thursday, January 20

 

I‘ve always been a fan of puzzles and, now that I have time on my hands, I usually have one or two on the go.  I used to buy them when I saw them in the supermarket but now I subscribe to a few publications and look forward to seeing them in the mail.  I read somewhere that doing puzzles will keep your brain from slowing down but I wonder how they can test that.  Sounds like a marketing slogan.  Some people turn their puzzle obsession into rewards.  Better Homes and Women’s Weekly have thick books with up to 100 puzzles and claim that each volume offers around $80000 in prizes.  I’ve sent off the entry form from time to time but it’s a futile exercise.

 

I’m keen on acrostic puzzles but they’re hard to come by.  There’s just one small book that I can find, published 6 times a year.  No prizes here, just the pleasure of working the puzzle out.  I’m having a rest from Sudoku which was my go-to puzzle preference for years.

 

My favourite book is Mr Wisdom’s Whopper.  It’s a modern version of a puzzle which first appeared in the Australasian Post in the 1960’s so it claims to be Australia’s oldest crossword puzzle.  There are 27 puzzles in each edition and there’s a strong repeat factor in the clues.  I think the clue ‘Marshall Mathers’ has appeared about 5 times in the current issue, and ‘New Orleans Jazz genre’ about the same number, but that’s OK.  (The answers are Eminem and trad).  It’s not surprising that there are repeats, as each puzzle has about 450 clues.  They also have to be fitted in to the grid which limits the possibilities.

 

I like the fact that there’s a local touch: ‘Launceston river’ (Tamar) is an easy one, as is ‘Wollongong mount’ (Keira). My geography has been improved by doing these puzzles.  Without thinking, I now know that Socotra is in Yemen and Asmara is in Eritrea.

 

I suspect the compiler is a person of about my age because a lot of the clues seem to be a product of my generation.  ‘English actor’ is more likely to be David Niven than Benedict Cumberbatch, and ‘US singer’ is probably Ella Fitzgerald rather than Britney Spears.  Music questions also delve into 60’s knowledge.  ‘Which band released ‘Howzat?” or ‘What was the Crystals big hit?’  (I’m sure you know it’s Sherbet and He’s a Rebel).

 

I’m working on the premise that keeping my mind active will delay the onset of dementia but I suppose I’ll never know if that’s right.