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Good Morning. I have just heard a Cuckoo. Like jazzgirl we are surrounded by heaths and woodland. We have had the wettest drought on record here in East Anglia !

Thanks rossim for the link. I will become hooked on that !
chrisg. I am much further South than you, and this morning around 5 a.m. the cuckoo decided to wake everyone up. I had the window open slightly so it was very clear. Good luck at the hospital.
J

Jazzgirl -I`m envious! Haven`t heard a cuckoo for years. Even in the suburb here we used to hear them.
Chris -I doubt if the man would have noticed the `t`. You are right about it, tho`.
I am pedantic too; often shout at the radio/Tv correcting grammar! M.

Of the 5 tagged cuckoos only 2 have returned. 2 are definitely dead but the BTO are still hoping for the third to appear. This seems to reflect the decline in cuckoo population and explains why we don't hear them like we used to. I've been following their progress since July - see post 9. Yes, I'm hooked!

Good Morning, All.

Special good wishes to the ailing members of our band.

I did not find RT19 very easy at all. Again I had to come up with the name of a television programme I have never watched, and assuming I am right with 19 down, the tense of the clue does not fit. It took me well in excess of two hours to crack it this week.

Re the discussion on birds. I don't think I have ever heard a cuckoo in the wild. There are a couple of pigeons who grudge me my sleep beyond four in the morning, and there is a woodpecker who often disturbs my train of thought when I am trying to solve a crossword.

Then, of course, there is the trusty old crow. I can identify with this chap very much. He has a dishevelled appearance, a big nose and is not very gainly. Three attributes which describe me quite well. Can anyone else see themselves reflected in nature?

Best wishes for now.

P

hello pipesmoker.
I'm sure Mrs P would disagree about the crow !
re 19d have a look at this link: (description 11. a ) This could be another way of looking at the clue.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/drive

J

sorry, just noticed there are several 11a's
This is the one:
11a. A rounding up and driving of cattle to new pastures or to market

Please help this poor old soul Fellow Crypics...really stuck on 12a..(A wine maybe..?) Love the cuckoo reports,so far not a twitter from this neck of the woods. (Staffs.)

Hi Raymond
12a Force everybody left outside in Virginia to make wine (12)

force = Police
everybody = all
left = l
Virginia = VA

Put them all together .....

Jazzgirl....You're a STAR..! I can now sleep tonight.! Many thanks. (DO you by any chance attempt the 'Wordfinder'..? Stumped on that as well this week.!)