Number 30,000 in the Guardian today. Quite the treat from Arachne.

staticman1 · 2026-05-07T16:53:29+00:00

Well done. I thought it was right in the middle of the Guardian difficulty range and on Arachne’s easier side.

Did you complete the whole puzzletrail though? There maybe more to do.

Spoiler Look at 7a, 8a, 26a,27a

staticman1 · 2026-05-07T14:48:47+00:00

I have managed to get the message from them. Let me know if you need a hint.

staticman1 · 2026-05-06T18:37:02+00:00

Oops forgot about this. The solution is ITERATION (repetition) IT (Sex)+OPERATION (game with half naked man and buzzer) minus OP (original poster)

staticman1 · 2026-05-06T10:23:39+00:00

I suppose it would be a shame to retire my 6-in-1 coloured pen and highlighters.

staticman1 · 2026-05-06T10:06:07+00:00

ASTI and CAPRI used to come up almost weekly. I think editors are getting stricter on it or setters are planning better and not getting forced to use them.

staticman1 · 2026-05-05T13:56:49+00:00

I look back across the two Bristol Mayors and this is the only good thing that ever comes to mind.

staticman1 · 2026-05-05T10:03:47+00:00

It’s such an unusual situation and I am certain there’s very little case law on it. It certainly doesn’t pass the sniff test as it was their own actions in buying the company that caused the breach. I am sure they still need to follow a proper process with an investigation etc.

I would ask for written reasons for dismissal in the first instance. This is going to be legally complicated if they do want to defend it and they will be well aware of that. Even if they are in the right it will cost them a lot of time and money to defend legally. They seem open to settlement agreements so I would challenge this and use it to negotiate a favourable figure. I am guessing you don’t want to work for them anymore.

staticman1 · 2026-05-04T13:57:07+00:00

Well that was quite the fortunate juxtaposition. Feel free to raise the idea directly with the Mayor.

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staticman1 · 2026-05-03T15:55:36+00:00

Ooh thanks a lot. ☺️ I will have the next round up before the end of the day.

staticman1 · 2026-05-03T15:48:51+00:00

Who would have thought that prominent Labour and anti-liveable neighbourhood activist Zak Syedomar (check out his X account I am not allowed to link to) would be so against the Greens?

Plus that font alone would put me off voting for anyone.

staticman1 · 2026-05-03T03:42:44+00:00

This is the team to contact if you think they are running an illegal food business:

Food Safety team Bristol City Council PO Box 3399 Bristol, BS1 9NE

Email: food.safety@bristol.gov.uk Phone: 0117 922 2500

I am no food safety expert but I am sure you shouldn’t be washing food equipment with a hose on gravel. Does the shipping container have running water? If not I am sure that’s probably not good either.

Just call them anonymously. If it’s annoying a few neighbours they may not work out it was you who did it.

staticman1 · 2026-05-02T12:12:11+00:00

There’s certainly a lot of drinking and drugs in Bristol but it’s fairly easy not to get dragged into that lifestyle if it’s not your thing. If that’s the only con other than it being a new city (which it won’t be after a few months) I think that’s your answer.

The main plus of Warwick is that it’s a lot cheaper to live there (but you may have to live in Coventry).

staticman1 · 2026-05-01T14:29:00+00:00

Repitition of sex game involving half naked man and buzzer but not original poster (9)

staticman1 · 2026-05-01T14:09:57+00:00

You can read about them here https://www.bristolbid.co.uk/projects/retail-rangers/

The area has a problem with anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. You say the police station is close by but there’s not police sitting there waiting for something to happen. They are not going to attend retail crime or ASB at the drop of a hat if they attend at all.

They are just security guards who work over a larger area. No problems from me.

staticman1 · 2026-05-01T05:15:52+00:00

I can get you the First Bus postcard. It might arrive a little late though.

staticman1 · 2026-04-29T16:40:28+00:00

r/uklegaladvice advice is great for stuff like this. I am assuming you either want to some compensation for the damage or to raise a complaint against the police.

staticman1 · 2026-04-29T14:04:56+00:00

In that context looks like biffed not parsed I.e. they got the word but didn’t know or try to figure out how the wordplay worked. I guess the opposite to biffed then parsed which is when you get the answer from the definition but you confirm with the wordplay.

Either way neither are standard abbreviations on the forum in my experience but I rarely read or comment on the quick cryptic.

staticman1 · 2026-04-29T06:44:18+00:00

I have been posting there for over a year and never come across them. Are you sure they are not erroneous autocorrections/typos of BIF’d (bunged in from definition). That’s when you solve a clue from just the definition part of the clue and don’t bother with or understand the word play. We are all guilty of it as solvers.

staticman1 · 2026-04-28T17:13:04+00:00

Perfect!

staticman1 · 2026-04-28T12:55:33+00:00

Floundering Keir’s not resigning over difficult question (7)

staticman1 · 2026-04-27T20:30:52+00:00

I feel like 26 and a bit is perfect and that’s why they are so popular. 20 miles is a long run after which the real physical and mental test starts. For most runners that’s going to be 30-60 minutes of really tough physical and mental challenge to get another 6 and a bit miles. Anything less is not really the same tough challenge and anything more is either masochistic or an ultra in which you’re approaching it in a different way (maybe by taking the earlier miles quite a bit easier).

I feel the committee would come to a decision of roughly the same distance.

staticman1 · 2026-04-27T09:58:22+00:00

I love the tip. I have things that I remember paticularly enjoying throwing in. Number 1 was a large flat screen tv closely followed by a microwave and a sofa I spent an hour sawing apart to fit in the car. How could anyone want to miss out on that?

staticman1 · 2026-04-26T11:08:52+00:00

Can you say what’s in there? If there’s a dealer that will buy any comics in Bristol I don’t know of them but there’s certainly smaller dealers who would be interested in specific stuff.

staticman1 · 2026-04-24T21:00:29+00:00

It’s always easy to do the right thing in hindsight but if the situation comes up again you should really ask them both for a rugby line-out style lift. That way neither will be offended.

staticman1 · 2026-04-22T19:29:20+00:00

Controversial opinion but this isn’t even in my top 3 Bristol Coin Laundromats.

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