DAILY MAIL CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Class arranges big soiree involving Open University (11) 9 Holy man’s headgear seized by mother twice (7) 10 Local gets steamy when redhead comes in (7) 11 Piece of advice is mine, on reflection (3) 12 Runner veering somewhat? Take bottle away (7) 13 Reason for drop in level of e.g. a lake possibly (7) 14 Devour steak, say, without a starter (3) 15 City slicker wise, say, to accept increased power (5) 17 French Madame sacks British egg supplier (5) 18 Oil producer’s small inferno (5) 20 Edits changes — they come and go twice daily (5) 22 Popular name for tavern (3) 24 Construction kit can come in pieces (7) 25 Stooped, bent indeed, to welcome group leader (7) 26 Benefit from American English (3) 27 Invalidate a Republican circular (7) 28 Small role in two pieces (3,4) 29 You shouldn’t miss this session with love (7,4)

DOWN

1 Stage-manager works here without others knowing (6,3,6) 2 Extremely likely to support state in every respect (7) 3 Good price for fuel container (5) 4 A loud type somehow performed better (9) 5 Singer very quietly controlled first of oratorios (7) 6 A surprising sentence often ends with this! (11,4) 7 Protected writer’s married a Parisian (6) 8 Strips going upstairs at end of day, ready for bed (6) 16 Planter with bucket and rain at intervals produces mix (9) 18 Jacob’s son said to be like his distant cousins (6) 19 French and English articles left out for flyer (7) 21 Japanese therapy and massage hits USA (7) 23 Untidy scruffy state you’re in, entering shower (6) 25 Get rid of pests in raised bed with fungi occasionally (5)

PRIZES of £20 will be awarded to the senders of the first three correct solutions checked. Solutions to: Daily Mail Prize Crossword No. 15,448, PO BOX 3451, Norwich, NR7 7NR. Entries may be submitted by second-class post. Envelopes must be postmarked no l