Listener 4220 Falsehoods By Aedites

[Ruthrobin]

Of course, I should have put the title too! Great fun this!

[Malcolmd]

Has it ever been mooted whether Listener crosswords could be submitted by email? It must be a pain dealing with and maintaining all the paper copies at Green Lane.

[Anapice]

Yes it has been mooted many times. I believe that JEG doesn't own a computer and is very attached to his own checking method.

[perseverer]

There is also the problem of the occasional origami wren and the like.

[Alekhine]

There is something reassuringly 'right' about Anapice's possible insight into JEG's checking methods.

I, for one, would have it no other way.

Hopefully someone will be contacting Santa to ensure that the dream remains unspoiled?

[Malcolmd]

.......ah yes, the origami wren. I guess 3D scanning technology is not quite up to scratch. Oh well, I shall continue to line Royals Mail's pockets until it becomes cheaper to deliver by hand.

[Ruthrobin]

Alekhine and MalcolmD, JEG also asks solvers, when he meets them, to stick a few extra used stamps in the envelope with the crossword if possible - just two or three each week - as he collects all the used stamps for a charity. It is, indeed, very reassuring.

[contendo]

There seem to be several members of the clan who are familiar with the working methods of the Master at no. 63. Can we hear more? For instance why does he like submissions to be cut within a millimetre of the edge? How does he ensure a random process for selection of the winner?

[AndrewG-S]

Contends, I think rr has replied to ths before. All the same size so when they are put together for winner to be selected there is no bias. I seem to recall he walks them round to his neighbour to select the winner.

[contendo]

Andrew G-S - It all sounds splendidly old-fashioned. It occurs to me that they won't all be the same size because the newspaper ones will be a different size from those downloaded from the internet - also a different thickness of paper.

[Anapice]

Contendo - he has that obstacle covered too. For entries other than the newspaper ones he cuts out sheets of the same size as the others and numbers them, so ensuring size and thickness etc., are uniform.

[contendo]

This all sounds quite surreal. Has it been written up anywhere? Where can I read a full account of how it's done?

[Arcticpenguin]

Dead-eye,

Thanks for the suggestion. Being diabetic I don't have much use for sugar cubes. I have at last finished Childs Play without recourse to anything but paper & scissors. Just 3 more to go......

[jim360]

Good lord! All of these size issues make me worried that half of my submissions were too large or small to be accepted! NOOOOO!!

[perseverer]

jim - don't worry - as I understand it, as long as your entry is correct JEG will make sure you go into the draw with the same chance as everyone else. This extract from the annual statistics report gives some guidance on how he would like submissions to be made.

http://www.listenercrossword.com/PDF/Misc/misc10.pdf

[Philoctetes]

And, to add a topical question - would it be the end of the world if no Listener appeared today?

[jim360]

I wasn't being entirely serious - but thanks for the link, I'll try to bear that in mind in future submissions.