Radnage

The rebus shows a BANDAGE. The B is replaced by an R and letters 3 and 4 are then swapped [REB6].

Time was the theme of the 1999 Hunt. The DMC-12 was the model of the De Lorean sports car used in the Back to the Future films that starred Michel J Fox [RAD1]. The �old-fashioned police box� is a reference to the time-travelling Doctor Who [RAD2].

Tulchva is a town in Hungary, the birthplace of William Fox, founder of 20^th Century Fox [RAD3].

The message �His birthday is a �� should be interpreted as a clue to the next code.  Fox�s birth-date happened to be 1 January (1879) and this represents the letter �A�, 2 January is �B� and so on until 27 January, which is �A� again. The year is given as 1999, which was not a leap-year, so there are 14 possibilities for each letter and 15 for A. For the code, the birth-dates of the people shown in the diary page should be determined and turned into letters in this way [RAD4]. No account is taken of the leap-years 1888 and 2340, which was a mistake, but not one that should have prevented a solution. The result is ASTRONOMER [RAD5] � one of the themes of the 1999 Hunt was the names of the Astronomers Royal. 

The bearded man is Steve Hames, setter of the 1999 Hunt. The Crown and the Three Horseshoes are both pubs in Radnage.

The original text on the second diary page is taken from the outline description of Logica's business that can be found on http://www.logica.com and in countless proposals.  I'll call that "Text A". Each word has been altered with respect to a hidden message ("Text B") using the following rule: If a letter in text B is contained in the corresponding word in Text A then one occurrence of the letter in that word is altered at random, but if the letter in Text B is not contained in the word in Text A then that letter replaces one of the letters in the word. Far from easy, I admit, and not helped by a number of errors. Text B reads "SEVENTY FIVE GROSVENOR AVENUE CANONBURY". This is the address of a pub called The Snooty Fox [RAD6], where I run a quiz night every other Tuesday (kick-off 9pm).

The words on the other side of the diary page are taken from The Chronic Argonauts, an early story by HG Wells that eventually was adapted into his novel The Time Machine. The story is referenced in the 1999 Hunt and there is a mention of Jason of Golden Fleece fame. Also notice that the two dates from the diary pages � 16 November and 8 July � spell HG in the code described earlier [RAD7]. The text of The Chronic Argonauts can be found on the web. To decode the message, you must find the word in it that lies between the two given � the length of which is shown by the number of dots. So, in The Chronic Argonauts can be found the following phrases:

destructive resentment against
alike abnormally exaggerated
inferential diabolicalness, filled 
lightning illuminated every 
low osier-fringed eyot
the clergyman rapturously 
oppressively audible, swelling 
into rayless, voiceless 
lonely boyhood and 
speak of Omnipotence 
said Nebogipfel concluding 

The first letters of the missing words reveal RADIOCARBON, which is in keeping with the �time� theme [RAD8].

The words on the bottom of the diary pages �  Bengal, Chama, Ruppell's and so � on are all types or breeds of fox [RAD9].

My dream mirrors the plot of a novel by Charlene Weir entitled A Cold Christmas [RAD10]. Maniac Mansion is an ancient computer game of the adventure genre; the chainsaw is a red herring, playing no part other than to send the player on a fruitless search for some fuel for it [RAD11]. All this, and the fact that it is all a dream, is meant as an indicator that this little episode is itself a red herring, leading you to the Hertfordshire village of Cold Christmas. More on this later. 

To decode the clocks, its helps to have noticed that the text �The church clock struck 1=AM� was rather oddly worded or punctuated. It was a hint that 1 on the clock-face represented the letters A and M. This is the hour-hand; the minute hand is at quarter past if the first half of the alphabet is to be used and at quarter to for the second half. This allows for only 24 letters but I didn�t need Y and Z anyway. The decode is URSA [RAD12] � as a hint or confirmation, the constellation Ursa Major is shown in the niches above the clock-faces. The astronomy connection is in keeping with the themes of the 1999 Hunt.

Passwords and Directions

(a) ASTRONOMER to get to Bledlow Ridge
(b) RADIOCARBON to get to The M40 Junction 5
(c) URSA to get to Stokenchurch