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Sorry, Pigale,
I meant to say I am glad everything went well with the kittens.
You and their Mum will be glad to have them home, soon!

You know Rusty, I used to love eating fish and chips with my fingers when it was all wrapped in newspaper! But there again I was in my teens then - good old days.

Hello again, Pigale!
I am so glad that the cats are fine! You will be happy to have them home - as will their mum!
Regarding "sacred"... thank you, but we weren't looking for a synonym - my argument was rather that the adjective should not have been used to describe the 'man' but rather the 'music'!
I still like to eat my sausage and chips from the chip shop with my fingers! (what does being young have to do with it!)

Nothing much I guess, except for the fact that they are not wrapped in newspaper nowadays; anyway, the chance of me eating some in France is very remote.

Hi, Rusty!
Well, down here, we shall have our own new baby hopefully very soon now (mid-March!)
Youngest grandson is getting very impatient for his brother's or sister's arrival!
You are lucky still to have vouchers for use at Amazon and Waterstones. I have finished all that is in my account, so I shall feel guilty if I spend too much on purchasing yet more books! (but I might just have a look at the 1p pages.........!)
When you do look at your paper, you will see that Jess Ennis- Hill's coach is advocating that the BOA moves its preparation camp to a Zika virus - free zone well outside Brazil.
He also says that he will put no pressure on her to compete and defend her title - he considers that he has a duty of care to advise the best for her.
Good for him!
The front page of The Times is somewhat controversial, too...........parents are seemingly advising their offspring never to 'dally' with someone of an opposing political persuasion!
Yes, I shall have a go at the 15 x 15 later on........
Meanwhile, here is a clue for you (and Malone if he is reading this) from the Times QC.......
10A: In the morning, I leave China (5)

Thanks for the Times QC clue, Elle.

I found today's big/main/real Times crossword an awful lot easier than yesterday's. I don't think I was any smarter today, I think we all just get on better with some setters.

I had no problem with Byrd, sacred composer. In crosswordland, this just came across as a composer who composed sacred/religious stuff (which Byrd did). The shorthand of crosswords often leads to these things, slight misdirections and so on.

Hello Amigo-Elle!,
Kenya are ready to boycott the Games due to Zika.
They are very concerned with the potential effects on their female athletes.
I entirely agree with them, and Jess's coach.
Why is there no leadership on this issue from the Government, the British Olympic people, our Prime Minister or Minister of Health? Do they hope Zika will go away?
We will wait forever on Coe doing anything.
He is an irrelevance.
Any woman going should be given the facts from medical experts, not from those with vested interests.
I have just set my machine to record a prog this evening
"California Dreamin'" about the Mamas and Papas.
I liked them. Hope it is good.
Just off for a walk to see the snowdrops!

Hello again,

Well, the feline family is duly reunited and quite happy about it too !
My bank account is duly debited by a fair amount (!!!), and not really happy about it!

Still, no more expense now until end of August for boosters for the three of them.

So nice to see blue sky after the past few days, but not quite sure how long it is going to last - we'll see.

Elle, I forgot to mention about chip to the Vet - Am going back in 2 weeks for stitches out (Free !) so will ask then - anyhow, it's done now.

Hi, Rusty!
I totally agree with you that if there is any danger at all to the athletes, then they shouldn't go to Rio.
But I think the problem lies in no one being upfront with all the facts.....no one in authority is actually committing his /her self to admitting the true situation - maybe they do not know enough themselves?
But if in (any) doubt, then surely the venue should be moved?
There should be leadership from our Government, and the Olympic body, I think? A positive stance needs to be taken?
It should not be left to an individual athlete to have to make a personal decision. The decision should be taken for them across the board.
Yes, I remember the Mamas and Papas - I think we still have some LPs of theirs somewhere - I shall have to look them out.
Did you find any snowdrops? I haven't seen any this year.......surely they should be out by now? We have none come up in our garden as yet, but some of our daffodils are in bloom! despite our planting them so late in November!
Have you done the Times crossword yet? I've finished it but am stuck on parsing a couple!

Hi, Malone!
Yes, I definitely found today's Times Cryptic 15 x 15 on the easier side.
As you say, it depends on whether one is on the same wavelength as the setter!
I have finished it but am battling with the parsing for a couple - I may need to ask for help later!
I gave up on yesterday's puzzle!
I could "do" Byrd yesterday - I just couldn't agree with the grammatical use of "sacred"; to me the adjective was describing the wrong noun.


Pigale, I'm glad that the cats are safely back home!
Are they wearing "lampshades" to protect their stitches?
I only mentioned the microchipping , in case it saved you money in the long run!