For those of you who missed last night’s Listener Awards hosted over Zoom by Jane Teather and John Henderson, here are the winners:

Ascot Gold Cup for the best puzzle: Tip-top Condition by Twin (Colin Thomas), finished grid below

Solver Silver Salver for the longest all-correct run: Peter Blayney

Radix Auditorum Jug for the best newcomer: James Leaver

Here is a run-down of the top ten puzzles as voted on by the all-correct solvers for the year:

An erratum concerning Listener puzzle No 4616, Disco Lovers by The Ace of Hearts has been published on the Listener puzzles website. Here’s a link:
http://www.listenercrossword.com/

Unfortunately, there was a very premature post from Encota at LWO last night (Friday) which has now been deleted. However, those of you receiving an RSS feed will have had an email for it and many apologies for that. I hope you realised what it was before reading it and that your enjoyment of Charybdis’s puzzle wasn’t, or won’t be, spoilt. In any case, please delete it.

Once again, many apologies.

Dave.
 

May I wish everyone who visits Listen With Others, whether frequently or occasionally, a very merry Christmas and a happy and successful 2012.

I would like to must, of course, thank Shirley Curran and Erwin Hatch for their superb blogs this year. Shirley’s weekly efforts have set an exceptionally high standard which I hope I come near to matching, and I hope that all of you find our efforts entertaining. I would also like to thank those setters who have kindly provided fascinating blogs on the creation of their puzzles.

This year, Listener-wise, has seen a major hiccup in my attempt to secure a 5-year uninterrupted run of all-corrects. I have failed on at least four occasions, initially with 4141, Trailblazers by Dysart, and most recently with 4162, Carte Blanche with a Twist by Mash. (By the way, if you’re a Magpie subscriber, there is an incredibly detailed setter’s blog for that puzzle available there.)

So it’s onwards and upwards into 2012. If next year’s Listeners match the standard of this year’s puzzles, we’re in for a real treat, so a final thank you to the editors and all the setters who keep us coming back for more.

Best wishes,
Dave.