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lumen, in the met office one I don't have F. It's a 2 letter term for fine as in the sense of acceptable, usual abbreviation for temperature and a one letter abbreviation for year. Hope this helps

Just twigged the full quote and the film. Corny stuff admittedly but, hey, it's Christmas!

Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2024.

Exactly right, Woodlouse! I enjoyed the puzzle but will never watch the film.

I’m feeling a bit underwhelmed having filled the grid and got the messages. I have one row which is gibberish apart from a five letter answer placed centrally. I guess this is as it should be. My only unsolved clue is Princess imprisoned in story, one penned by HCA, though the cells are full.

For the Princess, think of Greek myth.

I have a full grid, with all the across answers entered symmetrically. When the downs are entered, there are eight clashes, which are resolved in different ways. If I treat these cells as 'empty', then I have 14 empty cells.

I cannot understand the rubric about the three cards, but I suppose I could interpret this as saying that there are two of one shape and the third is the rest of the grid. However, the statement that there is something special about the last two letters in the first card eludes me; they seem to behave themselves just like everything else.

Now for the film. I love films and spend many days at the BFI, but I suspect that this is not a film I would particularly enjoy. However, the 14 letter fill is obvious, so it all boils down to 18 cells. Perhaps the eight discarded letters from the clashes are now used? But they are all over the place. So, as so often, it is a matter of guess what I am thinking.

I can, of course, see a thematic item, but you don't need an elaborate preamble to notice that. I will have to Google Xmas films, I suppose.

Many thanks Will37.

foinaven - since we're told that the down clues "give the words seen when all three cards are stacked", it follows that, where there is a clash with an across answer, the down answer takes precedence. The only thing "special" about the last two letters of the top card's message is that they don't conform to the otherwise symmetrical lay-out.

Thanks. My grid is perfectly symmetrical, so it must be wrong. However, I did have the correct precedence pattern.

Ah, I can see an asymmetry, but not where I was expecting it. And now I think I have 18 letters to highlight. I suspect that the thematic reference here is outside my ball park, so I will need to start Googling.