Another pub gathering (and some championship chat)

Author   petebiddlecombePosted on Categories Announcement
On October 3rd, former Times crossword editor Brian Greer is in London on a visit from Portland, Oregon where he now works. He suggested a gathering in a pub to meet up with me and “Big Dave”, who runs the Telegraph crosswords blog where I get to write up the full reports on Brian’s puzzles in the Sunday Telegraph.

We’re meeting in the Bree Louise near Euston Station at 2 p.m. Come along if you’d like to meet Brian, who is also “Brendan” in the Guardian, “Virgilius” in the Independent, and on the Times setting team.

9 comments on “Another pub gathering (and some championship chat)”

  1. Sounds great – and I might just be able to make it for once!  (Even if it is the day before I start work.)
  2. What a pity I do not get to London until mid-November. I would dearly love to meet the great Brian Greer whose Brendan and Virgilius I eagerly look forward to.
  3. Sadly I can’t ever make the first Sunday of a month. However I am keen to meet some of the setters and solvers, to the point where I am contemplating a day trip to the Championship finals on 10 October.. are spectators encouraged?
    1. “Encouraged” would be an exaggeration, I’m afraid. For the preliminary rounds, only competitors and officials are allowed in. This is understandable given that there are 100-odd people to monitor in order to record the results.

      For the final, spectators are allowed to sit at the spare desks at the back, subject to essentially the same rules as the contestants – total silence for one hour, unless the finalists all finish inside the time limit. You get the same set of puzzles as the contestants, so you can try your hand, but you cannot see any competitive action other than the turning of pages, raising of hands and whatever else you can divine by looking at the backs of people’s heads. Other information is restricted to a roll call at the beginning and the announcement of the results at the end.

      Although we’re unlikely ever to have the same kind of final as they do in the equivalent American tournament (play from about 1:43 to about 2:30), they could give a tournament in the Times format just a bit more life.

      Outside of the solving sessions, most contestants will be perfectly happy to chat with you, and some will find the nearest pub for a drink, on the day and the night before.

    2. Just to add to what Peter says, my girlfriend has gone to the championship for the past four years as a spectator [*] and has enjoyed doing so.  Most people are only competitors for one hour, and they tend to spend the rest of the time chatting at the venue or in a nearby pub, so your day wouldn’t be all that different anyway.  It may well be a lonely experience for shy people who don’t already know other crossword folk, but for those who’ve met online it’s great to put faces to names, and to have conversations about crosswords with more than one person for once.  (The main reason there aren’t more spectators is probably that this sounds like hell to most significant others.)  So yes, I’d say go for it.

      * I’m proud to say that this time Rachel will be there as a competitor.

    3. If you want to meet a Times crossword setter, it’s one of the best chances you get – there are usually 6 or more of them present, though that includes a few who will be busy with marking and the like.
  4. Thank you for the helpful comments.. I am still thinking about it, it’s a long way, and indeed there would be little chance of my “significant other” wanting to come. Are the location/address & starting times available online somewhere?
    1. Strangely, there seems to be no public statement on these points. From my acceptance letter:

      Assembly Hall, Cheltenham College Junior School, Thirlestaine Road, Cheltenham GL53 7AB. Ample car parking in college grounds, or 20-25 mins walk from Cheltenham Spa Station. It’s the usual time-table:

      10:00 – 10:50 – registration for Preliminary A
      11:00 – 12:00 – Prelim A
      12:00 – 12:50 – registration for Preliminary B
      13:00 – 13:00 – Prelim B

      15:00 – 16:00 – Grand Final, with full results given out by 16:30 at the latest (prizes probably awarded by about 16:10)

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