GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD SOLUTION ON MONDAY

ACROSS

6 Hal, producer born in 1892, noted for backing Laurel and Hardy films (5)

7 Corrupt chocolatier played by Matt Lucas in the 2023 musical film Wonka (8)

10 ____ Drewery, fashion designer and lead singer in Swing Out Sister (7)

11 Mary ____, magical nanny played on film by Emily Blunt and Julie Andrews (7)

12 A short, well-known pithy saying (7)

13 A payment provided by a cathedral to a canon in its chapter (7)

14 A bet placed on a series of races or other events (11)

19 Plant-like organisms forming crusty growths on rocks, walls and trees (7)

21 Cyborg law enforcer who made his debut in a 1988 sci-fi action film (7)

23 Julia Margaret, pioneering photographer, born in 1815 (7)

25 Eleventh studio album by Chris Rea, released in 1991 (7)

26 Greenwich ____ , zone in which the UK operates in winter months (4,4)

27 A prolonged stay in bed (3-2)

DOWN

1 Novel by Robert Louis Stevenson that is a sequel to Kidnapped (8)

2 A persistent and peevish complaint (6)

3 Ridges set at intervals on roads to deter motorists from driving too fast (5,5)

4 A complete circuit for an electric current (4)

5 To direct one’s hopes towards achieving something (6)

6 Summaries of matters discussed at the end of meetings or talks (6)

8 Danny, Dutch darts player born in 1990, nicknamed ‘The Freeze’ (7)

9 A remark in a play heard by the audience, but supposedly not by other actors (5)

13 One who supposedly can predict another’s future by looking at hand lines (4,6)

15 A V-shaped stripe on the sleeve of a uniform, usually indicating rank (7)

16 A simple wind instrument played by blowing air through a mouthpiece (8)

17 Gaston, late Austrian engineer who developed a pistol named after him (5)

18 Organ of the lymphatic system, under the diaphragm, that filters blood (6)

20 The slightly convex shape of the surface of a road (6)

22 A thin sphere of liquid containing air or another gas (6)

24 Rusty ____, cocktail containing whisky and Drambuie (4)