Reverend John Graham

Kirsty Young's castaway is the crossword compiler John Graham.

Now aged 90, he works under the name Araucaria and, for more than fifty years, has infuriated, intrigued and entertained with fiendish clues and mind-twisting anagrams.

Like his father and grandfather he became a vicar but, when divorce forced him to leave the church, crosswords provided an unlikely source of revenue.

Of the skills needed to dream up cryptic clues, he says: "So much of it is something that goes on unconsciously. You see the word, you play with it in your mind, you don't actually think about the punters at all at that stage, you try and do it for yourself. I hope that it equips one for life in the sense that it makes one think more clearly and that can only be good."

Choices

1.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Symphony No. 7 in A major - 2nd movement

Artist: The Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Karl Bohm

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2.

Kathleen Ferrier

Blow the Wind Southerly

Composer: Trad. arr Whittaker

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3.

Johann Sebastian Bach

The ending of Bach’s Peasant Cantata.

Artist: Lynne Dawson,Stephen Alder and the Friends of Apollo

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4.

John McCormack

The Star of County Down

Composer: traditional

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5.

Procol Harum

Homburg

Composer: Reid/Brooker

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6.

King's College Chapel Choir

Three Kings

Composer: Trans.Bate – Cornelius arr.Atkins

7.

The Church Choir of Saint Andrew, West Tarring with the organist Christopher Harris. The director was John Wardle.

Song of Mary

Composer: Richard Shephard (music) and words by Mary Holtby

8.

Castaway's favourite

Joseph Haydn

The heavens are telling (from The Creation)

Artist: The Berlin Radio Symphony Choir and Orchestra conducted by Helmut Koch

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Book

The complete works of Saki by Saki

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Luxury item

A telescope

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