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Hello, Elle,
Ah, a pity they do not have the book.
I have bookmarked the site, too.
Standard postage is free, I noticed.
I did not see any tennis today.
Maybe see some over the weekend, though.
Yes, good old YouTube.
Everything is on there!

Good evening, Rusty!
Oops, I have just realised that I never did the crossword.
And I even printed it out , ready to start.....!
I just got side tracked and involved in other things......
I might take a look after dinner.
Chilli con carne today.
After I have watched my recording of "Eggheads"!
We have had a most miserable day here, weather wise...it has rained on and off all the day....
I much prefer 'cold and dry' to today's 'warm (er) and wet'.

Hello, Elle!
It's been a mild day here, but cold weather coming!
My grandson has just left.
He paid a surprise visit!
It's a good puzzle today, if you tackle it.
Couple of new words for me, and I am not keen on the definition in 10 across.
Just a minor quibble, though.

Hi, Rusty!
That was a nice surprise, having your grandson visit you unexpectedly!
Does he live relatively near to you?
I have done most of the crossword...just one clue yet to finish.
Yes, it was a nice puzzle and relatively straightforward..... a good job, as my brain slows down as the day progresses!
I didn't really see a problem with 10a?
I have "igloo" = "hut" (def)
i - one
goo - sticky mess
l - left
My favourites are 9a: tailbacks; 8d: diorama;12d: deanship; and 22d: music
"Sorb" and "uniat" are both new words for me.
And so far I haven't been able to solve 19a: A superior old man penning old African sheep (6)
I have ?O?D?D
What am I not getting here?

Hello, Elle,
Yes, he lives a couple of miles away.
He was going to his young lady's house for tea.
She lives on the other side of Invergowrie.
I would not call an igloo a hut.
That's a bit demeaning, for me,
You are getting the sheep!
Just an unusual name,.
Aoudad. Do you parse it now?

Hi, Rusty!
Ah yes, I know of Invergowrie..... as you know, I have an old school friend who lives there.
We are still in touch …...somewhat infrequently though!
But we always make a special point of catching up at Christmas.
I hadn't heard of "aoudad".....
The parsing? I think it is.....
a
u- superior
dad- old man
o - old
Actually, believe it or not, I have actually met an African sheep!
Although I wouldn't know if it was an "aoudad"!
I have also met an African camel!
The coalman came to call whilst we were there.......
One of his two camels wasn't very friendly, and tried to bite me!!

Hello, Elle!
Yes, it is a straightforward parse...if you know the sheep!
The aoudad sheep look like goats with huge horns.
The coalman came to Africa?
I did not know they delivered coal on camels?
Are you sure about this?
Used to be on lorries here.

Hi, Rusty!
We are going back a good few years - like about thirty!
But yes, the coalman delivered the coal by two camels!
He came round to the individual houses......some of which were merely mud huts, and others made of stone.
We were about four hundred miles south of Khartoum.
One camel loved to be petted, and the other very viciously curled his lip.....and tried to bite if one got too close !
I have a photograph somewhere in one of the albums.

Hello, Elle!
I see, I think.
Is Khartoum in Africa?
Did the camels pull a coal cart?
I don't think camels and me would get on.
I heard that they will bite.
I don't blame them, really.
No fun being a beast of burden.

Hi, Rusty!
You need to remember that this is a very long time ago, Rusty!
It was in the 1970s when we went to Africa.
Khartoum is the capital of Sudan, which is in North - east Africa.
Having spent four days in Khartoum, we then travelled down south in an incredibly rickety small plane!
I was terrified! You know how I hate flying, and heights!
The coalman came to deliver at the house where we were staying.
The coal was carried in sacks on the camels' backs.
No delivery cart........ it would have been difficult to pull such a device over the soft sand!