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Good morning, Elle!
Dull and dry here, but not so cold as yesterday.
I did a big shop at ASDA earlier!
Exciting life I lead!
No plans now, but likely I may go for a walk later.
Plenty of choices on Amazon!
I read earlier that Michael Johnson was recovering from a stroke he had in August.
I had not heard about that.
Hope he makes a full recovery.

Hi, Rusty!
It is still raining here...and much colder than yesterday.
We are promised (threatened with) even lower temperatures tomorrow!
A maximum of 4C.
I have turned up the heating!
And hunted out scarves and gloves!
That is such a shame about Michael Johnson.
No, I also did not know that he had suffered a stroke, back in August.
I've just looked it up on Google, and apparently he is doing well and "almost back to normal".
That is good to hear.
I think he is such a nice man.
Right, that is several jobs out of the way.....time now , I think, to take a look at the crossword........
Have you done yours?

Hello, Elle!
Yes, it is getting cold.
Think I'll put gloves in my jacket pocket.
Yes, sad indeed about Michael Johnson.
I wish him a complete recovery.
I like him a lot.
He is a big asset to BBC Athletics programmes.
I can't remember his stroke being reported here?
I have finished my puzzle.
11a was quite a ponderable parse for me.
Took quite a while before I saw it!
8d is a new word to me.
A good puzzle, I think!

Hi, Rusty!
I am trying to think which was the last Athletics event of the season?
I am sure that nothing was said then about Michael's having had a stroke - I would have remembered - and so perhaps it happened after that?
Anyway, all the very best to him!
My favourite clues in today's puzzle are 20a; 23a; 7d; 19d and 24d.
I have two clues remaining that I cannot do .....
10a; S?N?E?R?N
8d: S?M?T? (you said this is a new word for you...but I cannot get it?)
And I cannot parse 27a:
I have yardstick = standard (def)
But cannot see the rest?
The rain has stopped...and we have a watery sun appearing.........

Hello, Elle!
The last event I saw was one of the USA marathons and he does not commentate on those.
I can not remember it being reported and he is a big name.
10 is "sanhedrin", "san H e Dr in", a council, think it was mentioned in the Bible?
8 is a fabric used in the Middle Ages!
"Samite", " just the thing" is "it" inside "same"/uniform.
27, yardstick. Credit is "tick", leaving "yards".
I think in America, "gardens" are called "yards", but there could be a different meaning in Jamaica?
I have heard of Yardies from West Indies?
Still dry here.
I am just in, had a bit of a dander!

Update, Elle!
Chambers tells me that "yard" is Jamaican slang for, a dwelling, home, or (by Jamaicans abroad) Jamaica.

Good afternoon, Rusty!
Oh yes, that's right, you watched the New York Marathon, didn't you?
I have tried thinking back to the last Athletics event of the Summer here ......maybe the Birmingham Grand Prix?
But I cannot recall whether Michael Johnson was commentating?
It is odd though, that neither of us had heard of his illness.
Thank you for the help with those 'stubborn' (for me) clues ....
Yes, I understand now, but couldn't see that for myself!
it is raining again here, and now growing dark......
I didn't go out again beyond the garden....I was too nesh!
It felt too cold and I haven't yet acclimatised to the new lower temperatures!!
Where did you go for your walk?

Hello, Elle!
Michael has just been interviewed on BBC News Channel!
He looks and sounds great, thank goodness!
Just as I remember him during the Olympics programmes etc.
He was telling what had happened to him, and the start of his recovery programme.
It has got a bit wet here, too.
But slightly less cold, possibly.
I had a walk around a building site not too far away, just to see how it's coming on.

Hi, Rusty!
That is reassuring about Michael.
I have always thought of him as a real "gentleman" if you follow my meaning?
Speaking of your walking round a building site.... you mentioned ages ago that there was a possibility of an Aldi being built near you?
It wasn't that by any chance?
We have an Aldi in our locality now...altho' personally I do not like it any more than I do Lidls....
I like my goods arrayed on the shelves, not left in boxes on the floor!
But I am told there are good bargains to be had...!
My daughter hasn't rung today on her way home from the office...that is unusual.....
I shall phone later to check that all is well.

Good evening, Elle!
We have rain!
This is the clip about Michael Johnson.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/46234803
They have not started buiding the ALDI yet.
It was a new restaurant I went to see.
They are well on with it.
There is an ALDI about 2 miles away from me.
I have been in it twice, I think.
But there are no boxes on the floor.
Should that be allowed, in this safety conscious age?
Could be your daughter has no signal reaching her 'phone?
It happens quite often.