PLEASE keep your letters to 250 words maximum giving your name, address and daytime telephone number - even on emails. Email: letters@swindonadvertiser.co.uk. Write: Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3BE. Phone: 01793 501806.

Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Puzzling word game

LIKE Mr Woodward, I often turn to the puzzles page to pass the time.

However, I find some of the performance ratings for the Word Wheel absolutely unbelievable.

Take August 24, for instance: The nine-letter word is skinflint. To rank as excellent one has to find 40 words of four or more letters, using each of the skinflint letters only once and not including any plurals.

I fancy myself as a bit of a wordsmith and I can only find 22, which is only considered average.

So confident am I that the target is nonsense I will donate £25 to charity if someone can prove me wrong.

DON REEVE Horder Mews, Old Town, Swindon

Apology for answers

I MUST apologise to Veronica Garside, SA August 25, regarding revealing the cryptic crossword answers, as it was not my intention for the Swindon Advertiser to print my letter.

However, I am at fault for sending it to the ‘Letters to the Editor’ page without making that clear to them.

In truth I did not consider that it would get printed, and it came as rather a shock to me when it was.

However, these were the answers to the previous day’s puzzle of August 23 which would have been readily available to all on the puzzles page on August 24, so no real harm done, but it was not my intention to spoil anyone else’s pleasure but just to express my appreciation to the Adver and, in particular, the compilers of the page.

G A WOODWARD Nelson Street, Swindon

Lack of spoiler alert

IN RESPONSE to ‘Please keep answers’ from Veronica Garside.

I understand your frustration at finding the answers to the cryptic crossword before you had completed it. However, I think your attack on Mr Woodward is little overzealous.

Blame should be placed with the Adver’s editorial team for printing the letter without any kind of spoiler alert for those still working on the puzzle.

I enjoyed Mr Woodward’s letter, he reminded me of my dear grandad who, for many years, completed the Adver cryptic crossword.

It was such a part of his routine he built himself a small wooden crossword holder so he could cut it out of the paper and mount it on its own base to have something solid to lean on.

SHARON CLIFT Swindon

Change our mentality

I AGREE entirely with Mr Pixton’s sentiments.

I was born and brought up here and am very passionate about our town.

I would like to add one further point to Mr Pixton’s letter: Until we rid the town of the village mentality that objected against the university, the new stadium and, believe it or not, the kind of mentality that objects to a new primary school (the one which was eventually built at Croft) I am afraid that Swindon will remain in the dark ages.

KEVIN LEGG Greenmeadow Swindon