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Hello, Elle!
In "ay a toll ah", "a ring" is "a toll", as in bells tolling/ringing.
Well done!
Now 8d is fairly straightforward.
"People" are "men", with "ecstatic" at first, being the letter "e".
The party is "Labour", removing "a", becomes "Lbour".
Melbourne.
Wonder if the Australian city was named for him?

Melbourne, Australia was named after Lord Melbourne in a roundabout way. Last year I visited the lovely little town of Melbourne in Derbyshire because I was doing someone's family history and wanted to take some photos (wonderful Norman church). Lord M took his name from the town where his grandfather (I think) had acquired a lovely old house (Melbourne Hall) on marriage into the Coke family, who originally owned it.
I don't see why he should have given his name to the city, though. As far as I know he never went there. Maybe just because he was Prime Minister? And apparently quite close to Queen Victoria. His first wife famously had an affair with Byron and coined the phrase about being mad, bad and dangerous to know

Hi, Rusty!
I didn't see "a toll" as meaning "a ring"!
Well, I was almost there...."atoll" does mean "ring-shaped"!
I understand the parsing of "Melbourne," now that you have kindly explained it to me.....but I would never have got it by myself!
Yes, I think you are right about Melbourne's derivation.
Originally, the Australian town was called Batmania after John Batman, but then was renamed after Lord Melbourne.
William Lamb's seat here was Melbourne Hall in the market town of Melbourne in Derbyshire.
But i am unsure how Melbourne in Australia came to be named after him?
I wonder if it were because he was a mentor to Queen Victoria.......and she consequently chose the name?
I shall have to look this up........

Update!
Yes, apparently , Queen Victoria saw it as an honour to Lord Melbourne to rename Batmania and call it " Melbourne" after him!

Ros, your post wasn't there when I started typing my previous message!
But at least we are agreed on the principles!

Hello, Elle!
I see Melbourne is in Victoria state, too.
Another link with the Queen?
I think I prefer Batmania!
I thought the puzzle was on the easy side today.
These spammers have been a pest the last couple of days.
Wonder what they get out of it?




Hello, Rosalind,
Thank you for the useful info in your post!
Always good to up a loose end or two!

Take 2, as they say in Hollywood!
"Always good to tie up a loose end or two!"

ho ho rusty!

I loved my short stay in Melbourne. There is a little cafe there where a lovely main meal costs £4, home cooked, and people on different tables talk to each other! Neither is true of Oxford.

...Just a bumping post - I've had enough spam for one day.

I agree, Malone, pesky spammers!

Hi, Rusty!
Yes, a large number of places which were once in the former British Empire were named after Queen Victoria.
The state of Victoria in Australia being one of them.
My younger daughter tells me that "Slapped cheek " disease is going around BB's school!
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/slapped-cheek-syndrome/
Have you ever heard of this ?
It is new to me.
I am told that a variant has been going around for many years.....a hundred or so years...but I never came across this with any of my own children.
Did you?
Whatever next?