Listen With Others

Delightful as ever! A perfect way to spend a Friday and Saturday evening, with clues that were challenging (and harder I think than some of Chalicea’s previous puzzles) and very fair – perfectly pitched in fact. Chalicea’s crosswords always bring a smile to my face and the Very Hungry Caterpillar can’t fail to please – at least, it can’t fail to please me.

I loved all the new words – STAGGARD, STILB, LEONIAN, BALLAT, KELTER, GREIN – and those are just the across entries. I smiled at the way our hungry caterpillar sinuously munched through an APPLE, PEARS, PLUMS, a LOLLIPOP and an ORANGE on his way to becoming a butterfly. Finding the various stages was fun too – amazing how EGG and PUPA hadn’t jumped out before.

I also allowed myself a smirk at the outsize bridge players, which evoked memories of playing at Cheltenham bridge club many moons ago. To be fair, it undoubtedly describes a sprinkling of members at most bridge clubs, and let’s face it, I’d probably now be classed as an OBP!

I’m so glad that Chalicea continues to treat us to imaginative and accessible Listener themes. Children’s books and songs are always a hit with me – Mr E’s Ants Go Marching earworm persisted for days after I’d posted the crossword – so please can I second Vagans’ suggestion of the Bear Hunt for some time in the future?