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Hello, Elle!
I have not went Horace's way for a wee while now.
And you found Glenda!
I was her best man when she wed.
I got "cedilla", I had vaguely heard of it and thought it was a wee squiggle on a letter?
"Left alone" is correct.
You may struggle with the parse as their is an old Scots word used.
"Faithful old" is "leal". Leal is on old word for loyal.
"Individual" is "one"
"Paper" is "FT", Financial Times.
Giving "left alone" for "is granted solitude"
I did not know "model" for "last"!
Quite a good one, I thought.
It is blowy here too.
Gloves still in my pocket, though!

Hi, Rusty!
Home again!
We had a very invigorating walk!
We more or less had the park to ourselves........
No picnickers!
One of the blessings of the cooler weather!
You are right....I had never come across the word "leal" before.
And yes, a cedilla is a mark (¸) written under the letter "c", to show that it is pronounced as "s" rather than "k".
I have a friend with a Spanish surname, De Mendonca, where there is a cedilla under the "c" - I cannot reproduce it here - and she tires of people calling her "Mrs. De MenonKa"!
Oops...I have just noticed the time...you will probably be out right now, collecting Miss L-B from work.....?

Hello, Elle!
That's the "bairn" collected and safely home!
Yes, it is distinctly cooler!
I do not think "leal" is much in use these days.
"Land o' the Leal" is "Heaven", apparently!
Yes, I can visualise a cedilla now you have explained it.
And understand why it is used, too.
Thank you!
If you were interested there is a "vlog" it may be called, posted on You Tube.
"Solving the Times Crossword on 3rd October".
One of the Crossword Club solvers explains it as he goes.
He took just over 5 minutes!
It's yesterday's puzzle, with Dahomey etc.
Worth a wee look!

LAND OF THE LEAL was a solution in a Guardian crossword a few months ago

Scottish heaven and hell? A lot confused about England’s crown (4,1,3,4)

It threw many! Fortunately there was a discernible anagram.

O', not OF, of course!

Good clue!

Hi, Rusty!
What a coincidence Chris' coming forward with a similar clue about "leal"
And, thank you for the tip off...... I shall look up the vlog about yesterday's crossword shortly..........
I shall enjoy watching/ listening to that, I think...especially as yesterday's puzzle happened to be one that I really enjoyed.
Following an "expert's" thought processes should be very informative and educational!
Your speaking earlier to Ros about Dolly Parton reminded that there was a question on yesterday's "Eggheads" about the song "Jolene".
I have been reading one of my new books.......
I am going through them very quickly.......
What are you reading now?

Not entirely coincidence, elle - I wouldn't have posted it if I hadn't seen "LEAL" in rusty's post!

What I SHOULD have said was what a coincidence such a clue occurring previously in the Guardian!

Out of interest, what was the Times clue?