THE PRIZE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Surname adopted by the Lancashire comedian John Eric Bartholomew (9) 6 Collective name for the Romance dialects of the South of France (6,3) 11 ––– pact, a political arrangement between James Callaghan and David Steel in 1977 (3-3) 12 Special church council convened to discuss ecclesiastical affairs (5) 14 French dramatist who wrote Phèdre, Andromaque, and Iphigénie (6) 15 American –––, a Clint Eastwood film that was nominated for six Oscars (6) 16 ––– And Harum-Scarum, a 1922 essay by the poet Robert Bridges about the shortcomings of free verse (7) 17 Malleable metal, an element with atomic number 82 (4) 18 Members of fraternal Lodges, either Apprentices, Journeymen or Masters (10) 22 Ray –––, author of the books The Martian Chronicles and Dandelion Wine (8) 24 Deirdre –––, Coronation Street character whose 1998 imprisonment drew comment from PM Tony Blair (6) 26 European country whose national anthem is the Marcha Real (5) 27 J.J. –––, American TV producer of Alias, Lost and Fringe (6) 28 Nicola –––, the First Minister of Scotland since November 2014 (8) 29 Eponymous king of kings in a sonnet by Shelley (10) 31 Nickname of the character Daniel Murphy in the Irvine Welsh novel Trainspotting (4) 33 ––– Of The Bailey, a John Mortimer TV series starring Leo McKern (7) 36 Bird that together with the dove makes up the family Columbidae (6) 38 First name of the composers Holst and Mahler (6) 39 Yootha –––, actress who played Mildred Roper in Man About The House (5) 40 George P. –––, US publisher who was the widower of Amelia Earhart (6) 41 Rodney’s wife in the sitcom Only Fools And Horses (9) 42 Scottish League One football team whose home ground is Stair Park (9)

DOWN

2 Constellation containing the stars Rigel and Betelgeuse (5) 3 Total ––– Of The Heart, a 1983 Bonnie Tyler hit (7) 4 Fossilised tree resin used as a decorative gemstone (5) 5 Harry –––, LA detective in a series of books by Michael Connelly (5) 7 Any betulaceous shrub or tree of the genus Alnus (5) 8 Aromatic blend of ground spices extensively used in curries (5,6) 9 The legendary sword of King Arthur (9) 10 Amor Vincit –––, Love Conquers All, a painting by Caravaggio (5) 13 The study or collection of coins and medals (13) 19 Comedy event in which a guest of honour is subjected to a series of jokes at their expense (5) 20 Pianist and conductor known as Mr Andrew Preview by 1 (5,6) 21 ––– Scott Card, author of the science fiction book Ender’s Game and its sequels (5) 22 ––– Andersson, one of the four members of ABBA (5) 23 Rhythmic, syncopated Cuban dance in duple time (5) 25 Greek contemporary of Socrates who is remembered for writing The Histories (9) 30 Another name for Sirius in the constellation Canis Major (3,4) 32 ––– Radcliffe, long-distance runner who finished the 2003 London Marathon in a record 2:15:25 (5) 34 Leader of the Conservative Party who was succeeded by William Hague in 1997 (5) 35 Roger –––, US film critic on TV with Gene Siskel from the 1960s to the 1990s (5) 36 ––– New Guinea, country with Port Moresby as its capital city (5) 37 Chicago’s international airport (5) †