After three years (give or take) I’ve finished all my Times Cryptic Crossword books as well as the slightly easier Daily Telegraph collection. My average time to complete a Times cryptic puzzle has, I can proudly report, been slashed to less than a day; from timing myself by ripping off the pages of a calendar, I can now plot my progress by using a sundial–weather permitting. By 2015 I hope to have graduated to using an egg timer. Fortunately, I like my soft-boiled eggs hard-boiled. Very hard-boiled.

Shana has treated me to three collections of Guardian cryptic crosswords (vols 1,2 and 5, if I remember right) and the first one arrived today. I have already done three puzzles: one set by Rufus, one by Crispa and one by Orlando. Tomorrow I’ll be attempting a puzzle set by Araucaria. Araucaria? That’s that Japanese extreme sport, isn’t it? The one where you hurl yourself on your sword? Maybe I’m mixing it up with something else though. I’m all set for tomorrow’s challenge anyway. Pencil: check; eraser: check; puzzle book: check; sword: er, perhaps not just yet eh?

Fancy trying to solve our first ever cryptic crossword? Well, I wish you the best of luck. It’s the first time I’ve ever set a crossword. No software was used to generate the grid. Nor was it copied from somewhere else. I simply used a few tips from this crossword site and did all the rest with pencil and paper. An old copy of Paintshop Pro 7 was used to produce the grid and solution images. Can’t get more low-tech than that, now can you?

As for the difficulty level, I haven’t a clue; obviously, I knew all the answers before I wrote the clues. It’s influenced, inevitably, by Times and Telegraph crosswords but I’ve tried not to copy too much. Can’t wait to do another one now, though, so hurry up and solve this and I’ll get another one ready, oh, say by Christmas!