Dr Ian Shanahan

57 Yates Avenue
Dundas Valley NSW 2117
AUSTRALIA

Sydney, 14 December 2005.

Dr Cedric Lytton
16 Lime Grove
Sheringham
Norfolk NR26 8NX
ENGLAND

Dear Cedric,

Im sorry that its taken me so long to respond to your last letter which, alas, has gone
AWOL, and is temporarily missing in action somewhere in the deep dark jungle of my paperwork on the
kitchen table. Fortunately, I do have a good memory...

Im really glad (and pleasantly surprised!) that you enjoyed my Harmonia CD; it received a fine
review in the latest Sounds Australian Journal. You mentioned recorder multiphonics thereon, I recall:
even more tracks than you cited in fact exhibit them I think; indeed, very few do not! As for the other
(data) CDs, all of their files (i.e. my theses and recorder sheet-music) are PDFs which assuming you
possess, or instead have access to, a computer can be read off-screen or, better still, printed out
using a 100% free program called Adobe Acrobat Reader (or just plain Adobe Reader, depending on
which version is installed on the computer). This software is, as I said already, free, being downloadable
from the Internet. I trust that this information will solve your problems in accessing these CDs contents!

Now to Marks and my R365F (The Problemist, September 2005). Last time, I quite arrogantly wrote
to you this:

As for unhappiness about solvers having to deduce the Neutral Pawns origins, frankly I dont agree with
your objection, on two grounds: (i) such a deduction flows quite naturally from the solving process itself
(i.e. it is readily inferred that there is no other possibility but that it was put on g4); (ii) Occams razor
finds the Black had a pocket Neutral Pawn stipulation an overkill (i.e. the invocation of pocket men,
and that Black in particular had one) when it is not strictly necessary. But, being the editor, Ill accept
your decision if you insist.

Firstly, I saw your amendment in the November issue of The Problemist, responding to Ren
Millours quite correct assertions claiming no solution etc. (a printout of my recent e-mail reply to him is
included herein). Returning to the quote above, whilst its point (i) is quite correct, point (ii) is definitely
not otherwise Rens claims would have no validity. So you were right all along! In my conceit, I had
not sufficiently considered the ramifications of adding pieces to the board in terms of their constituting a
move or not (either alternative giving rise to no solution). However, I do think a better because more
succinct cure than adding the statement Black had a pocket Neutral Pawn (let alone your November
amendment) is to include it in the stipulation, thus: Ser.H3 Monochrome, Black Pocket g4. Could
this please be noted in The Problemist (or the judge informed)? I believe it overcomes all difficulties.

Finally, I include herein for your Caissaic pleasure a copy of a four-page letter to Stephen Emmerson,
concerning a new original that focusses on Protean men and retroanalysis (a new combination!?).

Well, thats all for now. As ever, I do look forward to hearing from you, Cedric. I wish you and Dorothy
all the very best for Christmas, the New Year, and 2006. Happy composing and editing!

Yours faithfully,

Ian Shanahan.

~1~