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Re children's books
I've just finished (at one sitting) The Wool Pack by Cynthia Harnett, 1951. Very much enjoyed. It recreates the Cotswolds at the end of the fifteenth century and is quite exciting!
Have an almost untouched complete boxed set of Beatrix Potter no-one wants. Also the Chronicles of Narnia

Good morning, Rusty!
A lovely bright sunny morning here!
I hope you have the same?
And I have a 'free' day ahead of me........
Firstly, I shall make a coffee , then attempt the crossword.......
After that, I shall play catch up with the Passchendaele programmes!
How are you today?
Do you have anything specific planned?



Hello, Ros!
Do your grandchildren not want the Beatrix Potter and Narnia books?
I bought BB the complete set of Beatrix Potter for his last (fifth) birthday.
He loves them!

Good morning, Elle!
Pretty dreich here, so far!
I hope you like the Passchendaele programmes.
I have not watched the third one yet.
No plans today, though I may get the scissors out and tackle my hair.
Good luck with your puzzle!

Quick update, Elle.
My local newspaper has a 24 page pull-out today on Passchendaele.

Hi, Rusty!
Well, I have done all bar two clues of the 15 x15!
It seems quiet a reasonable puzzle today?
Unfortunately , these two clues cross each other, which is not helping me1
But I shall come back to them later on......a lamp may light ......!
Going to watch the first of the Remembrance programmes now.....
That is good about the pullout........it should be interesting?

Hi elle

No, grandchildren aren't interested. Boy interested in martial arts, natural history, girl in princesses, dressing up, cooking!

Hello, Elle!
I have not looked at the puzzle yet.
The pull-out was very interesting.
Lots of "personal" stories from family of the soldiers.
Must have been awful.
One mother refused to believe her son was dead and kept writing to him, even when told where his grave was.
Poor woman!
I read too, about lots of schoolchildren collecting sphagnum moss to be used on wounds.
There was a photo of the girls and their baskets setting off to find the moss.
And in town they made millions of sandbags in the jute mills, and bomb bags etc.

Hello again, Elle!
I have completed the puzzle.
Quite a good one, though I had to head to Chambers several times!
Just ask if you would like a wee dig out with it?

Hi, Rusty!
I am very impressed and overawed by the Passchendaele Remembrance Services .
They have done the soldiers who gave their lives for their country - our country - proud.
It is good that we "remember" a hundred years on......
I think that the programmes have been presented with great dignity and insightfulness.
Kirsty Young brought it all together very skilfully and reverentially.
The "War Horse" story was brilliantly done by Michael Morpurgo (have I spelled that correctly?)
The extracts from letters are heartbreaking.......
I am barely halfway through........
Your "pull out" from the paper will be a good "keepsake."

Hi again, Rusty!
Our posts have just crossed!
I am taking a break from Passchendaele.......
It is so sad - and yet very heartwarming, too!
Now, re the puzzle......I especially liked 18a and 12d .
I have never heard of "Chinoiserie" but thought it a very good clue?
I got the answer just from the parsing.
The two I cannot do are 23d and 26a, which cross each other?
23d: Sloth, something hairy turning up in old African region (5)
N???A
26a: Famous inventor, no adult for chat maybe (4)
??R?
Yes, help will be appreciated, please - I have lost the inclination to struggle on!