Saturday Telegraph GK

[Paul21455]

A welcome return for the Herculis,and the shaded answers, but disappointed to see a cryptic clue thrown in to 'make up the numbers'. Baffled me for ages, but got there in the end. Crossword theme should be one or the other I think. What do others think?

[Arabesque]

Glad to see it back - now compiled by Kate Mepham - is this Michael's daughter? Perhaps we should leave things as they are for this week and revert to DT linked words next Saturday.

[sarumite]

Agree, that unless stated otherwise, GK crosswords should not include cryptic clues.

Whilst it would have been a relatively straightforward clue for a cryptic puzzle, I can see that it might throw those not expecting it.

[Paul21455]

It just showed me how, when your mind is one particular thinking phase, it refuses to read what it 'sees'. Agreed it was a simple enough clue, but the grey matter wasn't tuned in to that mode of thought.

[Aquagility]

Without wanting to judge on the basis of one puzzle, I think this falls quite a bit short of MM's standard. Things like 38a and 45a are hardly challenging. What do others think?

[Magyar]

I agree. If it is a GK crossword then all the clues should be GK. However, I think we should give the compiler time to settle in, this may just be a little blip, and it's great to see the link words back again.
Let us judge after a few weeks. In the meantime it's good to see the Mepham name back.

[Muzz]

I prefer it to be ALL general knowledge, as the title is GK Crossword. I leave the cryptic one to my husband. It's early days yet, so let's be patient. I'm sorry I don't know Kate Mepham's background, but I am happy to see the Mepham name at the top of the page again.

[au secours]

Must admit I found this a good mix of straightforward and challenging. The cryptic elements didn't 'offend' at all, perhaps because I tend to tackle both Xwords, so am used to it. Put a smile on my face to see the familiar surname linked with the Xword. Well done, Kate! You have a hard act to follow and so, I salute you!

[Dee Sa]

I too was glad to see the name Mepham, pls lets give her time to settle in.At least we have got the Herculis back and didnt we all moan without it ?
Do you look at our comments Kate ? and good luck., I was so sorry to hear about the sad demise of your father.
Dee

[gwynn]

Weekend would not be the same without our GK crossword and many thanks to Kate for picking up the challenge. We were very sad at the news of Michael's death and our heartfelt sympathy to his family. In answer to Paul21455, we relish the GK clues, but not clever enough to cope with cryptic!!
G&T

[lamulady]

I could not find a cryptic clue in saturday's GK crossword but i did see what I thought was an anomaly...16A should be a "widow" surely, the last line of a para going on to the mext page is an "orphan" (or so I had seen in a book for editors etc in my bookshop!!!

[lamulady]

oops, I did not see that the other notes in this column were all around 2 years old!!!! Hey ho