CROSSWORD NO 1,902 £500 TO BE WON

TO ENTER Complete the crossword and count how many times the letter ‘A’ appears in the grid. Text YOU followed by a space, your answer (the number of ‘A’s) and name to 65700, eg, YOU 9 Sue Smith. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network rate. Or telephone 0905 652 2141 and leave your answer and details. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network access charge. Or post your entry to YOU Crossword No 1,902, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries will be accepted until 11.59pm on Friday 26 April. One random winner from all correct entries will win £250 and five runners-up will win £50 each. If you enter after the closing date you will not be included but may still be charged. Phone and text helpline: 0330 100 0601. Winners will be notified by phone within 14 days. Solution in two weeks.

ACROSS

8 Exactly (2,3,3)

9 (and 24 across) The theme song of

25 across, 2 down (6,4,2,6)

10 What you used to hear when you picked up a telephone to make a call (8,4)

11 Soft fabric made of cotton or silk (6)

12 Viva voce (4,4)

14 Character (surname) who is the hero of

25 across, 2 down (4)

15 The woman (first name) who sang

9, 24 across for

25 across, 2 down (5)

17 Bend, curve (4)

19 Patellae (8)

23 Graduates of a certain university (6)

24 See 9 across 25 (and 2 down) 1977 film starring Roger Moore (3,3,3,5,2)

26 Painstaking, meticulous (8)

DOWN

1 Villain in a story (8) 2 See 25 across 3 Sea that’s an arm of the Mediterranean between Italy and the Balkans (8)

4 Celebration for a man soon to marry (4,2)

5 African country bordered by Namibia and Zambia (6)

6 A woodwind instrument with a double reed (4)

7 The ______ File: 1972 novel by Frederick Forsyth (6)

13 Removal of people from an area of danger (10)

16 Annual tome published in a US school or college (8)

18 Join, combine (8)

20 In mythology, the spirits of nature who appeared as young women (6)

21 Expression of compliance used by seamen (3,3)

22 The traditional religion of Japan (6)

24 End of the day (4)