GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Across 1. Oriental design on kitchen ceramic ware, designed by Thomas Minton in 1790 (6,7)

10. Character played by Heath Ledger in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain

(5)

11. The __ __ __, 1974 novel by Frederick Forsyth about a group of mercenaries (4,2,3)

12. Italian word for good evening (9) 13. One of two plumber brothers in a Nintendo game (5)

14. King of Egypt between 1304 and

1237 BC (7)

16. Norwegian who drove in the World Rally Championship 1998-2012 for Ford and Subaru (7)

18. Song in the 1971 rock opera Jesus

Christ Superstar (7)

20. The third deadly sin, as listed by Pope Gregory I in 590 (7)

22. Foolish courtier in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet (5)

24. Grey bird with yellow crest, prized as a household pet (9)

26. Secrets known and understood by only an enlightened inner circle (9)

27. Hymn of praise, especially in ancient Greece (5)

28. Married woman serving as a bride’s wedding attendant (6,2,6)

Down

2. English actor who played Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings (3,4)

3. English comedian known for his mother-in-law jokes and deliberately bad piano playing (3,6)

4. Golf club which can have a loft of

48-56 degrees (5)

5. Body of water between Greece and Turkey (6,3)

6. In Scandinavian folklore, a giant living in the mountains (5)

7. Western TV series starring Clint Eastwood which ran from 1959 to

1966 (7)

8. 31st President of the United States (7,6)

9. Songwriter who composed White

Christmas and There’s No Business Like Show Business (6,6) 15. Sturdy, vertical post used as a support for another object (9)

17. Breed of dog which was bred as a monastery sentinel dog in Tibet (5,4)

19. Rare malignant tumour arising from connective tissue (7)

21. “__ __ __ Move It”: song that featured in the Madagascar series of films (1,4,2) 23. __ and Present Danger: 1989 novel by Tom Clancy (5)

25. Seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed when threshing grain (5)