Tricky route card - horrible route checks! [RC3]-GS containing Telephone [RC4]-GS containing Post Office symbol [RC5]-GS containing Public House symbol [RC8]-my version of the route uses first W under Inn just inside GS 4316 [RC10]-8 GLs - 17 44 21 22 42 48 22 21 = 237. [First to answer, 10/10]  Dave Bell

I've been struggling in the dark a bit with this one and RC12, which was diabolical, even though I could work out that junctions were involved, I couldn't get anywhere. Now lets have a couple of easy ones to restore my shattered ego! Have had to whip this off early as I'm off to Manchester for the weekend (who on earth spends week-ends in Manchester willingly?! [David Beckham?])  Don Clarke

Is there any chance of you removing all the cookies from the site? They are beginning to be extremely irritating.  [Er, what cookies? There are none being sent from the TT site. Anyone else experienced such a problem?] Bridget Lewis

Giving rather blatant hints for RC13 are we? I had given up until I read your latest bulletin. A bit unfair on the postal entries and those with limited internet access...? (assuming I've now worked it out.... Not going to get much work done today am I!). [Jeremy is referring to the first statement in Bulletin 15, which was published on Tuesday morning. Actually this shouldn't have happened. I was due to be Internet disabled until Wednesday morning, so I had to delegate the uploading of this page to someone else. In their over exuberance to please the boss this happened 24 hours too early. Discovering this when I became Internet enabled again late Wednesday, it was already too late to remove it because some competitors had already taken advantage of my unfortunate words. My apologies to those who missed out, I'm sure there would have been more aggro if I scrubbed RC14. PS, being a forgiving sort of guy, the offending programmer has just been yellow carded, so he still has a job.]
You asked how much people would be willing to pay as an entry fee. I would be happy to pay around 5 quid entry, which I would have thought should cover your expenses. Any more and I think you'd put beginners off. I like your idea for classes, i.e. 3 classes, the lower classes getting progressively easier clues. You could add an extra dimension, by awarding bonus points for early answers. Alternatively, you could make this scheme apply to all competitors, but have class awards. i.e. if an 'expert' cannot solve a week one clue, they can still submit an answer after the second clue, they just get less marks. Maybe a bonus of say 6 points for submitting in week 1, and 3 in week 2. This way everyone should be able to submit an answer (i.e, if I enter as an expert, I don't end up giving up because I couldn't get half of your desperately cryptic expert clues). I still think you will get some drop out if you publish scores during the event, however it's quite fun having the running scores (when you're doing well!). [Keep those comments coming, I've got quite a lot to consider now.]
[later] Well, got it once you gave your 'clue'! Quite tricky even once you've got it, especially when you miss read Chris Faul as Chris Paul! A few ambiguities: [I do wish you would stop calling these ambiguities - most of them are by design to trap you into submitted a wrong answer!]
3) A couple of phones on grid lines. Pretty sure the 1st one is 3718, not 3717 [correct]. The 5th on could be in 4224 or 4324 [either was accepted]. 4) The 'P' of the second post office is in 3620, but the building is possibly in both 3720 and 3620 (i.e. 3921, 3720, 3620 etc) [Yes, I have to count the letters because the actual building is never known] 5) I assume you don't want Inns as well [correct], just in case, there is an inn 1st in 3925 and between 4017 and 4319 in 4316. 8) I think the white in 4316 (under the 'Inn') is the shortest route [Damn, you saw it]. If not, the next white is 4416. [10/10] Jeremy Rodgers

Do I get extra points for solving this without the extra clue? - I worked it out almost immediately but hadn't got round to double checking the answers and sending it in - honest.  Having your own initials right at the start probably helps!  RC3 - I reckon that the telephone is in 4224 but you could claim that it was in 4223.  RC4 - I think that there is a Post Office in 4320 but it's right underneath a bit of the map that I obliterated whilst rubbing out an incorrect route.  RC5 - there's also an Inn in 4316 (after the PH in 4215 [Er, what were you doing in 4215?]) which I assume you didn't want included as a Public House.  RC10 - not sure if you meant number of GLs or total of the GLs here - I put both. Mark Fearon

Don't Panic!!!!! I may now be able to get you an answer for RC13, having seen your little clue-ette on the news page... It may be touch and go on the time you get it though; check the headers to see if it goes out before midnight. (I'm assuming it's people's initials - from the entry list- giving spot heights - from their position in the list!)
[later] Answer 3 - 4621 is where the phone is pointing; if you want the actual picture of the phone, it's in 4721 which would then be the answer. Answer 5, 4316 contains an Inn which I assume you take as
a pub; you go through GS 4319 twice so I've included it twice in the list. Answer 10, 237 is the total of the total of the grid lines crossed, i.e. 17+44+21+22+42+48+22+21. If you just wanted the *number* of grid lines crossed, it is 8, or the *numberS* of the lines it is 17,44,21,22,42,48,22,21; If you just wanted *distinct* grid lines, the answer would be 17+44+21+22+42+48 which is 194, for 6 distinct grid lines. Not sure which of these answers you wanted! [You are always so suspicious of my wording! Yes, I should have been more pedantic - 8 is what I was looking for] Now I see the relevance of 'Who shot J.R. to the top?'...[Actually, this wasn't intended to be a clue for RC14, good idea though!] I haven't had time to double check these answers as I've had to do it in a rush at work this p.m. (skiving) since I'm out this evening. Hope they're right, I'm pretty sure of the route, ending at SH45 in 4820.
[later still] Re RC13 - a couple of extra comments I didn't get a chance to note down: Answer 3, 3718 is where most of the phone and the end of the pointer line are, although part of the phone picture is in 3717. Also, the phone in 4324 has a pointer line which seems to point at the grid line. I've said that the phone is in 4324 but would be prepared to concede that the end of the pointer could be in either 4324 or 4224. At least you know the phone I mean...I like the idea of posting a quick 'how's it going' comment on the news page with an extra clue - I've used it once or twice now...   Ian Buxton

AHHHH! Work has gone bananas over the last 2 weeks hence my absence last week. I have had no time to check my route - probably missed lots of shortest routes. Very clever route card - thought you had abbreviated to first names only, but then got it to work with either initial of the competitors names. Specific comments are: 1) I have read RC3-5 as squares containing the item but not necessarily on route, otherwise my answers would be very different. 2) RC3 - 4224 very close, the end of the line is on GL 43 so you may have wanted 4324 here. 3) RC5 - assumed you don't want Inns as well 4) RC8 - I join the white in South Petherton under the I of Inn - I think that is just inside GS4316, if you think it is in 4216, then my answer to RC10 should be one more. I'm on holiday next week, so unless I get a chance to do RC14 in the next couple of days, see you in a couple of weeks time - keep smiling!! [Welcome back with a 10/10] Mark Goodman

Saw RC13 at about 11pm but now I've run out of time to complete the RC's. Think I submitted the answers with about 3min to spare. Very rushed! A thought for the next internet TT. With all the talk of making more sections count, it may be an idea to consider a shorter event, say 12 sections in three months with 10 to count. The point being that it's all very well making it competitive for the top people, but like tt's in general the priority ought to be to get entrant numbers up. So the feedback you really need is from the people who dropped out early on. Why? Certainly, the reason I do very few of the tt's now is simply lack of time.  Keith Norman

Sorry, Carol Moulton was a bit thick with RC13! It never dawned on me that the first two letters were my initials! I started with the Central Monetary Fund, British Medical Journal...the mind boggles! I even got the answers wroung thogh some bits were obviously right!  Carol Moulton