‘Crosswords are gymnastics for the brain’
A family tradition of solving clues gave Vicky Walsh, 53, from Galway, Ireland, an idea for later on in her life
‘Some of my happiest memories from growing up are of sitting around the table after dinner with my parents and sisters doing a cryptic crossword together. My dad, Mike, would print out copies of the crossword and we would try to finish it together. After I left home, it became a tradition that we carried on whenever I was with them. When I started doing crosswords on my own, I was frustrated to find how hard it was to finish a crossword without Dad. The day I completed a whole grid on my own, I had to call him to tell him! It’s a very satisfying feeling when you fill in that final, hard-to-reach answer. I call it brain gymnastics.
My husband, John, manages construction programmes and we have lived all over the world thanks to our respective jobs. A few years ago, he was offered a project in Greece and after 25 years of working as a
French and Latin teacher, I quit my job and found myself with some time on my hands. I took it upon myself to find some freelance work I could do that was more flexible. As a huge crossword fan, I thought that I would try my hand at setting them. The two-day online course I took was really helpful in getting me started;
I learned how to set up a grid, the
12 main clue types and how to create a themed crossword. One thing I was surprised to learn was that each newspaper has its own rules for setters; in one, for example, you couldn’t use a living person’s name.
I was elated after I created my first grid. I’m sure it was far from perfect, but
I’d done it. Every crossword I set, I send over to my dad. You need a test solver to try them out and he is the perfect person as he’s quite a harsh critic.
What I love most is the mix of technical skills and creativity. It can take me several days to compile a crossword; the skill – and often luck – is in getting the words you want in your grid and making everything fit. I particularly love an anagram, so I have to be careful not to overdo them. My aim is to make the solver have a lightbulb moment when they get an answer right – I want them to feel clever. My favourite clue ever is: “Meat is in, oven is on! (7)” (The answer is “Venison”.)
Back living in Ireland, being able to make a living from crossword setting is my next challenge. For now, I post my grids to mycrossword.co.uk, where my pseudonym is Galviana (neo-latin for “Galway Girl”). Whatever happens, learning this new skill has given me back my sense of self and that’s invaluable.’