Crossword Help Forum
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SS, I think that there is a good reason why 12 days is allowed for submission of entries. Listeners are not targeted at a 24 hour solve. Although some can be done so, I find that only possible after 40 or so years trying to solve the damn things.

Gitto. You’re right of course that the target audience is looking for a real challenge but some still like a nudge. The question remains when those nudges should be allowed. I’d have gone for a 48 hour blackout but I understand solutions are available on social media. Inevitable, but sad.

All done. Thank you Little Hare, cleverly constructed.
Can’t now get rid of a certain Spiritual ear worm.

Finished after many hours. That was very tough but the endgame fell into place very nicely.

SimpleSimon wrote earlier:
"Surely solvers could at least give the puzzle 24 hours and let things mull over? Just a thought."

I absolutely agree with the sentiment there. I've always been surprised how early some solvers ask for help. The Listener isn't meant to be a doddle. The average Listener wil take three hours or more, a difficult one far more than that in my case. To ask for help before at least three hours has been spent on a puzzle is unreasonable in my opinion.

Thanks to Little Hare for a difficult but most enjoyable puzzle. I particularly liked the order of the 11 thematic items - a nice touch:-)

I will discuss with admin. It says answers only and l just want answers. Maybe there should be 3 threads. Hints, answers and a thread for buzzb and his pals.

After much soul searching, we’ve come to the conclusion that there should still be 2 threads, entitled: “SPURS supporters “ and “Rest of the world”.

As the penny finally dropped I began to feel stupid..................................

I've encountered the 403 issue a few times. It appears to be a problem with shared authentication tokens across two different parts of the site. As others have mentioned, when the 403 appears then going back to the main home page the-times.co.uk and signing in (signing out first, if it thinks you're already signed in) and then navigating through to puzzles->Crossword Club generally sorts it out. Unfortunately this prevents saved links to pages within the Crossword Club from being reliably useful, which is why although I have perfectly valid access I continue to find tatters' service very helpful!