General knowledge 812

(answers in next week’s paper)

ACROSS

1 Barnaby Rudge’s pet bird “Grip” (5)

5 First letter of the Greek alphabet (5)

8 National, patriotic tune or song (6)

9 West African republic, sandwiched between Nigeria and Togo (5)

10 Valuable possession, an advantage (5)

11 A formal warning, entered in the books of a court, etc. (6)

13 Card game for two or more players (5)

15 Title of an Emperor of Japan, used by foreigners (6)

18 A member of the House of Lords (4)

19 Kind of golf club (4)

20 Surname of an amiable old country gentleman in the Pickwick Papers (6)

24 Tsar of Russia known as “the Great” (5)

26 Deep blue dye obtained from a plant of the same name (6)

27 Short poem on homely or pastoral subjects (5) 28 Curved Gurkha knife (5)

29 Herb related to Angelica, used for flavouring (6)

30 A good or evil spirit in Oriental mythology (5)

31 Letters of the futhork or ancient Germanic alphabet (5)

DOWN

1 Poet famous for The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Pippa Passes, etc. (6,8)

2 Poison secreted by a snake (5)

3 Forename of Lady Astor, first woman MP to take her seat in the Commons (5)

4 In music, set of parallel, horizontal lines, on and between which notes are placed (5)

5 Italian family of violin makers (5)

6 Type of flour paste used for ravioli, etc. (5)

7 US actor famous, in particular, for his role of Norman Bates in Psycho (7,7)

12 Simple living animal, consisting of a single cell, of the Protozoa (6)

14 Any immense number (6)

16 Japanese system of unarmed combat (6)

17 In Cymbeline, the king’s daughter secretly married to Posthumus Leonatus (6)

21 Textile fabric made from cellulose (5)

22 Industrial city, capital of NordPas-de-Calais, France (5)

23 In legend, king given the power of turning all that he touched into gold (5)

24 A card game usually played for money (5) 25 Voucher redeemable for goods, etc. (5)