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Hello, Elle!
Yes, I have heard of Kilburn.
At one time I had a few relatives from across the sea, living in Kilburn.
I have been through Hampstead about 7 million years ago, but have never heard of Dollis Hill.
I thought you would like the "pants" clue.
The word is in the language, Elle, for better or worse!
Yes, you seem happy with BB's school and you should, of course, support their activities.
I agree with Malone, keep Santa until mid December, I think!

Chrise, thanks - it'll be Private Eye that's responsible for me knowing Neasden.

Elle, I love Christmas fairs and I love happy children - but I don't like the build-up to Christmas starting too early! My son was crestfallen one year when his gran took him to a Christmas fair and then told him it was '11 sleeps till Santa came'. He'd never have coped with hearing that Santa would be coming in 29 days!

Hi, Rusty!
So there you go, if you know where Kilburn is, you have a rough idea of the location of Neasden!
I agree with both you and Malone that Christmas is sadly commercialised, instead of its religious aspect being highlighted, but cannot see what is amiss with little children seeing Father Christmas at their Christmas Fair!
They can hardly wait till mid December as school will have broken up by then!
But to digress a little, I thought it rather sad that the little ones could no longer sit on Santa's knee......instead a little chair was placed next to his larger one...... the PC brigade has a lot to answer for!
I am three -quarters way through the 15 x15... I am struggling!
How are you going with Mr. M's life story?

Hello, Elle,
No, I do not know where Kilburn is, but I think it is somewhere in North London.
I had folk who lived there for a few years who followed the big civil engineering jobs.
And little children are not meant to see Santa, they are supposed to be fast asleep when he comes!
And there were no reindeers at Bethlehem, either!
I do agree, Elle, about the little chair.
I did not know that was what went on nowadays rather than sit on Santa's knee. That is a pity.
I have put Mr M's book to the side for today and have started reading "Tisha", about Miss Anne Hobbs going to Chicken, Alaska, in 1927, to be a teacher.
It is good!
The crossword is quite good.
Just in case you are stuck on 9d, there are "nine" in a baseball team who play on a "diamond". Could it be the name of a team?
Think Babe Ruth and Joe di Maggio!

Hi, Rusty!
I had already done 9d! and parsed it!
New York Yankees - anagram of orkney, skye, anew.
In fact, I have now finished the puzzle, bar one, and a few parsings I couldn't fully get.
The one I couldn't do is
8d: Economist has important figures, nothing less (6)
I have K?Y?E?
that is , if my letters are correct?
My Stormsure welly repair kit has been dispatched and should be with me on Monday or Tuesday.
Thank you again for that!

8 D is Keynes, economist - Key, important + (o)nes, figures.

Good morning, Elle!
Well done on the Yankees!
I had a biography on a famous Yankee, Lou Gehrig, (they named a disease after him).
Was an excellent book.
Lou's retirement speech at Yankee Stadium is on YouTube.
John Maynard Keynes is the economist. with a perfect parse from Malone.
Miss Anne Hobbs has reached Chicken, after an epic journey there on horseback, and had a near thing with a grizzly bear, and almost drowned crossing a river. She and her horse do not get on very well!
Fingers crossed (where did that come from?) the welly repair kit does the job!
Frost here again!

Just noticed that "fingers crossed" is the logo for the National Lottery.

Had a really lovely afternoon at Waddesdon Manor with the grandchildren (toasted marshmallows, mulled wine in a teepee!) but a 1hr 20 minutes wait to get out of the car park rather took the gilt off!
How did gingerbread ever come to have gilt?

Good morning, Rusty!
Dreich here! and it wasn't supposed to be according to our local forecast!
Re 8d yesterday....I did get as far as considering "key" as a possibility for "important" but didn't see "ones" for figures.
And I had never heard of Keynes!
I have finished "Hawaii". It was interesting and informative, but I preferred the previous two books of Mr. M's that I read.
I shall start on his autobiography next.
I have looked up "Fingers crossed" in my Brewers!
It says "An illusion to the superstition that making the sign of the cross will avert bad luck",
I hadn't realised that crossing one's fingers was a sign of the cross, had you?
We have nothing special planned for today........apart fro the usual dog walks of course!
How about you?


Thank you, Malone!
I would never have got that!



Hi, Ros!
I have heard of Waddesdon Manor.
it is in /near Aylesbury, isn't it?
Yes, I read that there is a gingerbread model made of the manor!