General knowledge crossword

ACROSS

1. Statesman who was twice Britain’s Prime Minister and helped create the modern police force (6,4)

6. Canine nursemaid who cared for the Darling children in Peter Pan (4)

9. Member of the weasel family with dark brown fur, yellow bib and long bushy tail (4,6)

10. Scotland’s second longest river, known for salmon and trout fishing (4)

12. Inflammation of the brain, usually caused by a virus (12)

15. Colourful crested birds with thin curved bills, found across Afro

Eurasia (7)

16. Company which measures media audiences and has produced US TV ratings since the 1950s (7)

17. University of Oxford college founded in 1263 (7)

19. Orange or yellow fruit of the Trichiliametica tree, found in Mozambique (7)

20. English novelist, born 1904, whose work includes Brighton Rock and The Quiet American (6,6)

23. Midwest U.S. state, birthplace of seven presidents (4)

24. “Age is just a number. It’s totally __ unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine”: Joan Collins (10)

25. Second largest moon of Saturn, discovered by Cassini in 1672 (4)

26. British soap opera first broadcast in 1985 (10)

DOWN

1. Turbulent water in the sea where a current flows into another (4)

2. British author best known for his Paddington Bear series of books (4)

3. 1953 romantic comedy film starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck (5,7)

4. Son of Zeus who killed Medusa and rescued Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus (7)

5. 1872 novel by Samuel Butler – the title is the name of a fictional country (7)

7. Food or drink usually served before a meal (10)

8. Slender, short-haired breed of cat with large pointed ears (10)

11. South Africa’s judicial capital, known as ‘the city of roses’ (12)

13. 1927 crime novel by Agatha Christie (3,3,4)

14. ‘Let’s _ _ _ _’: song from Mary Poppins (2,3,1,4)

18. Coastal region of northwestern Italy bordering France (7)

19. American actress and singer born 1893 who said: ‘When I’m good, I’m very good. But when I’m bad I’m better”. (3,4)

21. Perennial evergreen shrub with a long history of medicinal and culinary use (4)

22. 2011 song by Jay-Z and Kanye West, named after and featuring a singer who died in a 1967 plane crash (4)