CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Foreign vessel is shrouded in silence (7) 5 Many praise one, a lady of Rome (7) 9 Works and plays to music (5) 10 Rendered drunk? (9) 11 Public houses? (9) 12 An award for tidiness (5) 13 Construct perpendicular (5) 15 AA might be lost in Africa (3,6) 18 Birds love his crest, oddly enough (9) 19 Artillery unit to show the colours (5) 21 Something cast in gold - the last word in France (5) 23 He provides regular press handouts (9) 25 Note hip seams split by stress (9) 26 Snap together that which hangs loosely (5) 27 Hurried to include a song that’s turned out (7) 28 Teams of seven put out by the Spanish (7)

DOWN

1 Charge for keeping goods and silver in warehouse (7) 2 It makes a change (9) 3 Angry as a rodent that is trapped (5) 4 Game to dance with spirit (9) 5 Many a girl is kind (5) 6 A nut roast cooked for a high flier (9) 7 Possibly dread being challenged (5) 8 Winding road ran between France and Spain (7) 14 Supplementary course? (9) 16 Neither here nor there (9) 17 Exploded with fury when there’s commission to pay (9) 18 Rages on about wild animals (7) 20 Casts required for play, perhaps (7) 22 Force politician into clumsy lie (5) 23 Diana madly in the swim (5) 24 English invader who could be obtuse (5)

SOLUTION to Peter Chamberlain No. 688: Across - 1 Scoreboard, 9 Aquila, 10 Gravy train, 11 Scab, 12 Botanic, 14 Stream, 16 Gunman, 17 Come home to roost, 18 Honour, 20 Sniped, 22 Leaflet, 23 Rote, 25 Reawakened, 26 Noodle, 27 Watchglass. Down - 2 Cornet, 3 Rove, 4 Bottom, 5 As a matter of fact, 6 Danzig, 7 Nincompoop, 8 Carbonated, 12 Bashful, 13 Currant, 14 Saccharine, 15 Rumination, 19 Regrew, 20 Seraph, 21 Excess, 24 Jell.