CROSSWORD NO 1,905 ★ £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 1,905, PO Box 3451, Norwich NR7 7NR. Entries will be accepted until 11.59pm on Friday 17 May. 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

1 All the weblogs on the internet collectively (11)

7 What Stan Laurel or Horatio Nelson had named after him (3)

9 (and 10 across, 13 down, 16 down) Proverb that comes from Psalms 8:2 (3,2,3,6,2,5,3,9)

10 See 9 across 11 Aperiodofintense competition among retail enterprises (5,3)

12 The longest river in Great Britain (6)

14 Finish all the food and drink (6,3)

15 Roman emperor from 79to81ad(5)

17 Messrs Schama, Pegg, Hughes or Day (5)

19 Primitive feelings or behaviour (9)

21 Continent (6)

23 Monument, shrine (8)

25 US state (9)

26 John, the Are You Being Served? star(5)

27 1887 novel by H Rider Haggard (3)

28 Plants you might associate with a 1936 George Orwell novel (11)

DOWN

1 Long tubes used to shoot poisoned darts (9)

2 Currently appearing in a court of law (2,5)

3 Quiet time of the year to go on holiday (3,6)

4 Ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and polymath (10)

5 Proverbially, they are the window of the soul (4)

6 Secretly run off together (5)

7 Forbearing (7)

8 Ship’s officer (5)

13 See 9 across

15 Series of books, plays or films (9)

16 See 9 across

18 Large tent for events (7)

20 Tool or machine for clipping, paring or pruning (7)

21 Surname of the last woman to be hanged in Britain (5)

22 Italian carb (5)

24 Heavenly stringed instrument (4)