Something for the weekend – introducing Hello Lincoln’s exclusive crossword

Fancy testing the old grey matter over the weekend?

Well Hello Lincoln has just the thing – a new crossword that you can complete online specially compiled for us by Kevin Byron of Lincoln.

While Kevin describes himself as an amateur compiler he has considerable experience in crossword creation.

“In my early career in telecomms research, I used to compile crosswords for the company magazine and I also had one published in a specialist magazine called Magpie. This was the first of what I called Novel crosswords because all the solutions to the clues were hidden words in an extract from a classic novel. In the latter case it was Wuthering Heights. 

“I submitted another Novel crossword to The New York Times based on an extract from The Odyssey, and received a letter from the editor - Will Shortz - saying how much he had enjoyed it, but that it couldn't be published because the design of America crossword grids are quite different to those found in the UK. 

“For the last fifteen years I've been posting a special Christmas Cryptic Crossword on social media which seems to be growing in popularity, and a couple in Ottawa are always the first to send in the solution.” 

Kevin has also produced thematic crosswords as handouts for businesses in Lincoln. Including cafés, The Rest and The Bailgate Deli, and also The Strugglers Inn pub.

“It's well known that solving puzzles is good for our mental health and they also demonstrate how we enact our creativity in other activities. For example when we get stuck, the best strategy is step back and do so something else such as light physical exercise or chat with a friend. Doing this enables our mind to incubate the solution to problems unconsciously, and this applies to any kind of challenge we face. Then when we return to the puzzle we are more likely to have those mini 'Eureka!' moments where we wonder why we hadn't seen the solution earlier. 

“Even though I can compile cryptic puzzless, I am often challenged in completing those in the national press. So pn Hello Lincoln I plan to use the Quick crossword design as a basis and gradually introduce a few simple cryptic clues as a tutorial aid so we can learn to tackle cryptic crosswords together.”   

Just press the blue button marked Crosswords to enjoy Kevin’s first puzzle for Hello Lincoln.