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I have interrupted my normal sequence of book blogs because I have been so moved by the BBC CiNA Calendar Puzzle 2012 that arrived in my letter box this morning.

The calendar consists of monthly crosswords, most of them set by the very top British compilers (like Anax, Everyman, Rufus, Columba, Lavatch, Enigmatist and Pasquale) who give their services for free.

The calendar is truly beautiful.

I have poached just a little bit of the October page to illustrate how lovely the illustrations are (but you need the calendar to get the clues and details of how to enter the competitions).

Anna, age 13

The crosswords are three-dimensional: clues read not just across and down but ‘away’ as well and there is an annual championship that enthusiasts can enter, either by buying the calendar or by contributing to the project and downloading the puzzles month by month.

The first 500 calendars are being printed for free too, and the first £5 from the sale of every calendar goes to the BBC CiNA project and every single penny of the remaining net profits will be paid to RNIB for The Pears Centre for Specialist Learning.

The centre offers individually-tailored education, care and therapies to young people with complex needs who are blind or partially sighted.

It is Anna’s story that has moved me so. Anna, 13, has Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy and Cortical Visual Blindness.

She has attended the RNIB Pears Centre of Specialist Learning since 2003. To begin with Anna was unable to walk or use the toilet independently and she needed a lot of help and support with orientation.

Anna arrived quiet and defensive, with very few language and numeracy skills. Anna has fairly mild but regular epileptic seizures.

In the eight years she has attended RNIB Pears Centre, Anna has made tremendous progress.

She is now mobile and loves walking, and has made huge improvements with speaking, loves music (especially Rolf Harris!) swimming and can count up to five. Perhaps the biggest change is that Anna is now able to use the toilet independently, which is a fantastic achievement for her.

“If RNIB Pears Centre didn’t exist, who knows what life would be like for Anna, but I am very confident that it would not have been anywhere near as joyful as it is now.” John, Anna’s father.

What more can I say? You can order your copies on-line.

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