Best wishes to one and all for 2015.
_____
Genius puzzle groupies started to have problems submitting entries early in December, for which I apologise. I could try to give a long explanation as to why the previous tried and tested system for entering this prize competition online no longer works but, as I don't really understand it myself, that would probably end up leaving you both confused and angrier than you are already.
The short explanation is that, back in the mists of time (July 2003 in fact) when the Genius software, including the facility for submitting entries online, was written, it was done as a one-off exercise and not as part of the the programs for all the other online puzzles.
The Guardian is presently in the middle of a major revamp of all its digital platforms and communications, including an upgrading of its IT security systems, passwords, protocols etc. So far as I am aware this has been going smoothly, so far as the regular Guardian and Observer crossword puzzles are concerned, but it resulted in the unforeseen consequence of knocking out the Genius submission system.
In due course this will be restored but, hard as it may be for crossword fans to accept, a problem with the couple of hundred Genius submissions a month is not top of the list of global priorities that the programmers are grappling with.
So, as a stopgap, a temporary solution has been found for the problem:
1. When you bring the current Genius puzzle to your screen, it should come up in an interactive format with the name of the setter, but without the essential special instructions to go with it. You should see a message, reading: 'To access the temporary Genius page click here'.
2. With that page, you should get the special instructions for the puzzle, plus beneath it a form in which to fill in the across and down solutions and asking for your email address. At the bottom of that there is a 'submit form' button.
3. After you have successfully clicked on 'submit form' you can scroll up to a message with a tick that says: 'Thank You. The form was submitted successfully'
_____
Here is a cheering Christmas story for crossword lovers. On the day after Boxing Day 2013 two Canadians from Toronto, Temma Gentles and her husband Paul Kay, arrived from Coventry at a hotel near the British Museum in London. Needing food, having been thrown out when the museum closed at 8.30pm, they ended up in The Plough, in Museum Street, opposite the main entrance to the museum. There were no free tables, so they asked a man, sitting alone and doing a crossword, if they might share his table. He said his name was Michael. They soon discovered a shared liking for Guardian crossword puzzles and agreed that Araucaria was their favourite setter and that Paul was also quite good.
As the conversation meandered, Michael revealed that he was a children's book illustrator and that he often visited Toronto, where he had a friend who was a judge. He recommended that, on the morrow, they should visit the Cartoon Museum next door. Finally they parted, leaving him with one of Temma's business cards with their Toronto details. However, at the end of Museum Street they were overtaken by Michael, who told them that they had forgotten to pay but that he had settled their bill and that they could buy him dinner next time he was in Toronto.
The next day they returned in embarrassment to The Plough, intending to leave money there to pay back Michael for his kindness, assuming that he must be a regular, perhaps connected with the Cartoon Museum. The staff at The Plough said that they remembered the man paying but none of them had never seen him before in their lives. The Cartoon Museum did not open until the New Year and a Google search for British children's book illustrators called Michael produced no one looking remotely like him. A year later and Michael has not been in contract with them on a visit to Toronto.
Conclusion to the story: if Michael, or anyone who recognises from the above who Michael might be, gets in touch with me, I should he delighted to put them in touch with the grateful Canadians for whom he bought dinner in December 2013.
Moral of the story: if you are ever in a crowded pub, having difficulty finding a table, look out for someone sitting alone, doing the Guardian crossword. Nice things could happen.
Unless you are Paul. He once spotted someone in the London underground doing the Guardian crossword on a day that it was one of his. Friendly fellow that he is, as the train came into a station he could not resist asking the solver if he was enjoying the puzzle, admitting that he asked because he was Paul. The man leapt to his feet and just made it out through the closing doors, turning as he did so to shout: 'I hate you!'
_____
For reasons hinted about above, I cannot tell you the final number of those who sent in entries for the December's Genius (No 138 set by Picaroon) because entries after 7 December went to a secure file that I can't yet get access to it.
However, the first correct entry was from Tony with Demon at 00:45, followed by Ian with Oce… (01:45) and Jeremy with Goul… (02:02). The next entry, a newcomer to this list was Thomasrg… (10:38). There were 11 entries on the first day and 24 by 7 December, all of which were added to the pool for the selection of the December winner, who is Ernie Morrison from Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
_____
We hope you enjoy our crossword service. If you have any technical problems with it, please email userhelp@guardian.co.uk . If you have any comments or queries about the crosswords, please email crossword.editor@theguardian.com . For Observer crosswords please crossword.editor@observer.co.uk .
View all comments >