FRIDAY CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Author of the Pop Larkin chronicles including The Darling Buds of May who, prior to this, during the Second World War wrote as “Flying Officer X” (5)

4 Botanical name for small blue flowers growing in woodlands and cottage gardens or planted in pots indoors, commonly called grape hyacinths (7)

8 Large seed of a tropical palm with flesh/ copra pressed into oil or used to flavour rice, some green tea/chai blends, Thai curries or macaroons (7)

12 The _______; created by Godfrey Baseley in 1950, a rural drama that has become the longest-running radio soap opera in history (7) 13 Artist of the High Renaissance who created The School of Athens (fresco), Sistine Madonna (oil on canvas) and Transfiguration (tempera on wood) (7)

14 French composer whose Boléro was used by Torvill and Dean for their gold-medal-winning ice dance at the 1984 Winter Olympics (5) 15 Blanket of snowdrops, daffodils, bluebells or other flowers; a cattle drove road; a set of fishing nets; or, a collective noun for swans on water (5) 16 Meaning “Phrygian gold”, a type of richlyembroidered ornamental border on an ecclesiastical vestment (7)

17 Setting of a play by French polymath Pierre Beaumarchais and subsequent opera by Gioachino Rossini, the capital of Andalusia (7) 18 Moroccan stew with various spices, apricots/ prunes and almonds, or the clay pot in which it is slow-cooked (6)

19 Originally a barber-surgeon, the botanist and superintendent of the gardens of William Cecil, Lord Burghley and compiler of the tome Herball (6)

21 Charioteer of ______; ancient Greek statue, one of only a few remaining bronze casts from the Classical era (6)

25 With cultivars including Miss Jekyll, Persian jewels and Cambridge blue, a flower with lacyor hazy-like bracts, also called love-in-a-mist (7) 28 Bodies forming part of the solar system, some represented in an orchestral suite by Gustav Holst (7)

29 Followers of a Hindu discipline which incorporates asanas such as uttanasana (standing forward bend), savasana (corpse pose) and bhujangasana (cobra) (5)

30 Form of typically green quartz, often scintillating due to inclusion of mica (10)

32 The __________ Collection; greatest-hits album released by Madonna in 1990 (10)

34 Meaning “ogre”, a mountain in the Bernese Alps with a north face nicknamed Mordwand (“murder wall”) (5)

35 First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, whose disappearance during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe remains a mystery (7) 37 Egg-laying mammal; the only existent monotreme other than the platypus (7)

38 Name of the eldest son of George V and Queen Mary (Mary of Teck) (6)

40 A character at the mad tea party in Alice’s

Adventures in Wonderland (6)

41 Vessel constructed by a cooper (6)

46 A heraldic symbol of Scotland (7)

49 Artist noted for fairy, flower and nature illustrations similar to those by Cicely Mary Barker and Molly Brett (7)

50 Suffolk _____; traditional fastening found on a ledge and brace door (5)

52 Hindu goddess and companion of Krishna; an avatar of Lakshmi (5)

53 Current-affairs programme presented by Julie Etchingham (7)

54 Greek architect believed to have co-designed the Parthenon in Athens (7)

55 Indie band who released their debut album The Back Room in 2005 (7)

56 Collective noun for prairie dogs (7)

57 Director of the film Dunkirk with his wife Emma Thomas as producer (5)

DOWN

1 Surface for playing ludo or Cluedo (5)

2 Striped linen for covering mattresses (7)

3 British equestrian who won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics 12 years after breaking his neck (7)

4 With a population of approximately 12 million, the capital of Russia (6)

5 _________ Challenge; game show based on constructing a machine from junk (9)

6 Spanish word for espadrilles (10)

7 Country whose capital was founded in legend by Romulus and Remus (5)

8 Word coined by Robert Hooke for the smallest, most basic units of life (5)

9 Type of boat such as the Pinta used by Christopher Columbus in 1492 (7)

10 Type/genre of book associated with the Man Booker Prize for Fiction (5)

11 Person appointed to count votes (6)

18 Cornish castle where King Arthur was born, according to legend (8)

20 Phantasmagoria scientifically studied in oneirology (5)

21 Coughs and sneezes spread ________; slogan launched by the Ministry of Health during the Second World War (8)

22 King Solomon’s Mines author (7)

23 Ring on a boat to guide a rope (8)

24 Georgian country house near Richmond, North Yorkshire (4,4)

26 Actor who starred as the title character in Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books (7)

27 Cook Now, Eat _____; Mary Berry book (5) 29 UK _____; support network charity for people aged from nine to 25 (5)

31 Compass point at 0° or 360° (5)

33 A person who makes wagons; or, the inventor of the power loom (10)

36 Truncated title of an order of chivalry set up by Edward III in 1348 (3,6)

39 Fruit used to make guacamole (7)

42 US artist who painted The Poor Author and the Rich Bookseller, Florimell’s Flight and Hermia and Helena (7) 43 Vitamin A-derived ingredient found in many anti-ageing creams/serums (7)

44 Actress noted for roles in Birds of a Feather, The Sculptress, Down to Earth and Broadchurch, to name a few (6)

45 Knocking down all the pins in one turn in tenpin bowling or skittles (6)

47 With a call or cry likened to a humpback whale, one of the largest living lemurs; a critically endangered native of Madagascar (5)

48 Sounds represented by piano keys; melodies uttered by songbirds; or, musical symbols such as semibreves or minims (5)

49 _____ water; mixer used for G&T (5)

51 Another name for lucky dragon tea (5) A sudoku grid has a 9x9 grid that is further subdivided into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve the puzzle, each of the rows, columns and 3x3 boxes should contain all the digits from 1 to 9. The solution to this puzzle will be published in next week’s issue.