Really looking forward to our next Needlewriters evening on 18 June, featuring brilliant writers Jackie Wills, John McCullough, and Bethan Roberts! needlewriters.co.uk/2026/05/04/j...

The words "pen" and "pencil" are unrelated. Pen is from Latin penna, meaning "feather", and pencil is from Latin penis, meaning "tail"

Keep it quiet but UNCH ISSUE FOUR PRE-SALES ARE OPEN NOW unchcrosswords.com#shop

my favourite bit of ER so far - the hunt for the boning room

@heroncrosswords.bsky.social Your quick cryptic was much enjoyed at my beginners (now strictly speaking improvers!) crossword club tonight 😊

On the #CrypticSunday menu today it's Henri @henriwords.com and Guava @danjdavison.bsky.social! Join us at 12 ✏️ twitch.tv/crypticsunday

I've been busy in my usual way trying to build up my own special retreat from the world, with a few books and pictures, my two glass fish and so on.

Omg Rivals. I'm still surprised how good it is and where they've taken it. What an episode.

New cryptic up on MyCrossword today to celebrate an anniversary. Does that mean that I'm getting boring? You tell me... 🎵 www.mycrossword.co.uk/cryptic/3544

When I was illustrating a ‘Libraries in Pop Culture’ article, I really struggled with the Sunnydale Library illustration. Buffy meant - means - a lot to me and I wanted to get it right. I drew so many versions of Giles’ glasses acting which I never used. Here are a few. RIP Anthony Stewart Head.

An observation test for your inner 8-year-old. Can you spot the 13 mistakes in the picture? From Treasure magazine, 1965 Official answers coming soon (Even if you don’t reply, could you please ‘like’ or share this one?)

Cabin Pressure is honestly one of the best British sitcoms of the 21st Century so far - if you haven't heard any of it yet, treat yerself

Giles was a great librarian, recognizing the information needs of his patrons and supporting their research projects with courage, dedication, and the occasional magic spell. RIP.

Well this fucking sucks, RIP. I wish we could be blessed with more great work from him but I'm thankful for everything we got. A good time to be mid Buffy rewatch with T, and I already listen to Cabin Pressure on constant repeat. Seems like he was a wonderful man too. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Long overdue: Why we need a new chapter on library funding magazine.unison.org.uk/2026/04/22/l...

I was today years old when I realised I can buy a second headset to keep in the office so I don't have to carry the same one back and forth from home #HybridWorking

In case anyone was wondering: Witty answer in middle of grid: 'French letters' (7)

A picture that captures your essence.

Thanks to a steroid injection I'm gradually returning to both swimming and yoga after 7 months of this frozen shoulder... still can't do that much but it's better than nothing! 🏊‍♀️🧘‍♀️

Today's Parseword clue is by me, originally published in Unch magazine 😇🇫🇷🤬 www.parseword.com/daily

Show blind and partially sighted members of the LGBTQ+ family some love this #Pride month with a tactile, large print and braille card. All profits go back to RNIB to support blind and partially sighted people. Spread the word, you fabulous people! shop.rnib.org.uk/search?q=pri...

Solving crosswords by @davidjsiron.bsky.social and @ozpiper.bsky.social at 12 noon, come and join us! #CrypticSunday twitch.tv/crypticsunday

Just got back from Sweden to find the latest issue of @unchcrosswords.com waiting for me. I've shared it with my family, and they were every bit as impressed as I was - not just by the puzzles, but by the editorial too. In a niche where quality matters, Unch continues to set the standard.

I got very excited during our ER rewatch yesterday when two doctors conferred over a Medline search strategy! Obv they should also have conferred with a librarian but I haven't spotted one of those yet... #medlibs

Another 4 train day 😬 This one has no air con, but on the plus side the previous one featured a dog in a sunhat, who scared himself by sneezing and had to be cuddled by his human.

We’re on the brink of selling out of our stock of Issue 3 - do grab a copy now or risk missing out! unchcrosswords.com

I don't want to be travelling for work today but here we are (here being an already sweltering Brighton station for 25 minutes, because my second train is delayed).

"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." Happy #TowelDay!

If Cryptic Sunday wasn't enough for you, I'll be doing a solving stream later this evening - not sure of the exact time yet. Hoping to solve grids by Cheeseman, @sisyphus06.bsky.social and Dskys. See you there! twitch.tv/ouroborosop

Forget this hot and stupid week and solve some crosswords with us! Join the #CrypticSunday stream at 12 noon BST to tackle cryptics by @ouroborosop.bsky.social and @skirwingle.bsky.social 🐍🐦‍⬛ twitch.tv/crypticsunday

We will keep fighting for trans inclusion. The legal battle continues. Support our appeal 👇 goodlaw.social/25wp

And still it goes on! Not so much Succession as Incessant... #TheArchers

Today’s Parseword clue is one of mine from Issue 1 of Unch. Speaking of Unch, Issue 3 is still available! @unchcrosswords.com www.parseword.com/daily

In addition to hiring someone in our department - we're also keen on expanding our roster of setters who can compile American-style crosswords for our Cross Atlantic series. Are you a setter who might be interested in setting themed crosswords with a contemporary feel? If so, get in touch.

This is beautifully done. Definitely make the correction specified by Jack below for the full effect!

I'm back in Parseword again today 🙂 www.parseword.com/daily

Ladybird book in the spotlight. ‘How It Works: Television’ (1968) Artist: BH Robinson

Never in doubt, blue group ❤️ Connections Puzzle #1073 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨

Thank you Mitz - I love all your stats, but this is a really good sign - I hope it is the beginning of positive movements in this direction - and that eventually this is a abnormally large gap! #cryptic #crossword #equality #feminism

On May 4th we had Dice's debut Daily Cryptic; on May 7th (for #30,000): the return of Arachne; Pavo's 2nd DC was on May 13th; today: the first DC by Carpathian since Feb. This is the shortest ever span in the Guardian for us to see 4 different female setters. www.theguardian.com/crosswords/c...

Obviously somebody had been appallingly incompetent and he hoped to God it wasn't him.

It's an English summer now, so cool, so grey. Yet I think of my revenge and hurricanes.

It's #CrypticSunday and we've lined up two more MyCrossword puzzles to solve together, by @duncanjwitham.bsky.social and Lohengrin. Join us at 12 noon BST! twitch.tv/crypticsunday

My friend lent me this time machine to enjoy over the weekend...

this is an actual Bluesky Rule: if you have ever so much as exchanged a single like, you are required to hold up the book in the shop and say "hey my friend wrote this"

Properly fascinating, this! Thanks @henriwords.com

We lost Douglas Adams 25 years ago today. This has made a lot of people very sad and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

#CrypticSunday is back, join us at 12 noon BST! Planning to stream a couple of the many recent MyCrossword puzzles I've not managed to get to yet - the Featured cryptic by Gennaro, and one from last Sunday by @heroncrosswords.bsky.social twitch.tv/crypticsunday

Not a bad spot to stop for lunch today.