Tom Johnson left school in 1965 and spent his career as a teacher. However, he always had a passion for crosswords and decided to take the leap and work as a freelance crossword compiler and editor, something the still does and loves to this day!

Tom has compiled and edited crosswords for The Financial Times, The New Statesman, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian amongst others, and recently had his first crossword in The Times. The Spectator also celebrated 50 years of its crossword recently - Tom has been involved for the last 40 of those.

In this conversation he talks about what he loves so much about his job, and the lifestyle it gives him. He also - very kindly (and patiently!) - runs through the format of Cryptic Crosswords and how to solve them, and gives a few examples... We'd love to hear how you get on with them!

This podcast is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Talk to us about producing a podcast for your business - please email [email protected].

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers themselves and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our schools, their employees or constituents.