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Hi Geeker,

Most definitely! It's a very good little Q&A and he's virtually spot on when asked how he imagines his average solver, only I had a Lambretta not a Vespa:-)

If this is any indication, I certainly hope it is the first in a series.

Hi Jaffra,

That name for Finland came up a couple of weeks ago in an Everyman, I think. In the article I gave a link to, he says that 8a was the very first clue he wrote for the Guardian - set the tone, as it were:-)

Brendan,
There have been many subsequent profiles in the Guardian blog. Google something like "Guardian meet the setter" to see more.

Re. the Finland name, I used to play ice hockey, and fans of international hockey used to occasionally wear Finnish national team jerseys, so I had a leg up.

Hi Brendan, yes 23a was "wire broken in 22 across awful office equipment". 19 d had a different answer, with penultimate letter E, and 26a was "half admitted to large - scale pestilence". Can see why this was changed... (18d also different solution). Thanks very much for the link in your post.

Apologies Chrise - you made the point re old equipment...

Thanks, Brendan.

Have now looked at the interview with Paul that you gave the link to. Very interesting. But I would take issue with one of Paul's comments, that he appeals more to younger solvers. I am certainly not in that category! In fact, perhaps not so much Paul as some of the other setters, who sometimes seem to me to ask for knowledge that only ancients like me would be familiar with. A recent example in a midweek crossword was "Hutton", leading to "Len". My childhood hero, who I always preferred to glamour boy Compton.

I used to do the Guardian crossword 40+ years ago, but had stopped 25 years ago to bring up my daughter and work full time. Since retiring I have returned to the fray. I found this original crossword just as hard as some of the more recent ones and can't parse some of my solutions yet.

Please can I have a couple of hints to help me along the way.
6d Within a board, reform ain't possible (10) All I have is an N from 14ac
22d Not quite finding a space fro oatmeal cake (6)
I have B?R?I? and I'm not sure about the B and the I.

Hi roof
6 is a type of board around an anagram, def "possible"
22 Your B is wrong

Thanks Chris

I went away and solved most of the clues including 6d and 22ac. All I have left are the 24s. But I'm not sure of my answer For 18 down.

For 24d I have ??E? and I'm assuming the definition is top. I've no idea what the monkey has to do with it.

The first three letters are a synonym for "monkey" ; the definition is "top".