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Thanks Brendan, got the little French word now, that rings a bell from another very recent crossword....as does the song, now I have that!

Well done Lumen, there's no doubt this was a very tough puzzle to crack

Thanks to all your help, Brendan, I finally got the theme. In response to your question of yesterday, it is very well known in the US. I remember singing it and playing the game in my early years. Rather a dark origin for a nursery rhyme.

Thanks MPRS, I'm glad you got it sorted. I was a tad concerned the rhyme might not have been well known outside the UK so that's good to hear.

I'm currently struggling over the EV - along with the IQ and Listener we've had 3 very difficult puzzles this week - all excellent though:-)

I'm sailing through IQ tonight! So far. About 90% done in an hour and not looked at forum either.
(Blowing my own trumpet, to make up for getting SO much help with the Listener this week!)

Finished this yesterday afternoon. What a slog(!), made the more difficult that the majority of the radials were words I had not encountered before, or their constituent parts were. Not very satisfactory IMHO.

Gosh, you were all busy while I was tucked up in bed! I can't do late nights very often these days. Lumen, I'm sure you now see that the three-letter verb I was referring to for 35 was the one that needed a letter removed, and HW7's helpful earlier post referred to the two-letter verb on which the answer is based.

I'm inclined to agree with you, Specsaver, though "slog" is perhaps a tad harsh. The construction to implement the theme just about made up for the hard work though, I think.

I have worked out all the clues, tune, and filled all the grid, but the notes don’t seem to match the tune I know. Of the 6 piano notes A B C D E F G obviously only 4 are required (as per preamble), 3 are obvious but I’m not convinced of the final one. How many should be highlighted altogether? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

23, Diver. If it's any help, the notes are sequential from a musical point of view.

I keep slogging away here and have been grateful for the assistance this thread has provided but I’m still not seeing a few things. 27 seems to be something like point with ont and i involved. Sure it should be easy. 24 presumably ends with ts but French name nom or appel isn’t getting me far. 37 seems to begin with l or d a and presumably means nucleus with an n in it. I’m finding the second ring difficult and can’t get away from hawthorn top right but get v strange letters left.