Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

(Thanks for the parse, FJ)
Good to see so many old friends making a welcome return recently.

As usual, liked many including Ixion @9, Rossim @13, Heathcliff @17. Just scraping past Dorrien @21 is

Mattrom @29

ginge@22

Heathcliffe 15/17

Likes for Rossim@2 and Arist@31 - I had to check that viburnum produces berries - it does!
Very tough decision between Heathcliffe@ 17 and Skye@ 14
Plumping for Skyewlker@14 for the excellent surface and the def OK according to my spouse.

I'll go for Skywalker @ 14 as well, please. Always a sucker for the little black dress!

dorrien @44
The "winter thrushes" (fieldfares and redwings) love our viburnum berries. I can't vouch for their painkilling properties, though!

Maybe aristo could speak to that.

Evening all,

A superb standard this week and an excellent crop of 26 clues from 15 setters.

With 4 votes yet to be cast skyewalker's #14 leads heathcliff's #15 by 3 votes to 2.

6 more on 1 vote - anyone can win !

Back later...

I'm quite a fan of viburnums, but I've never tried their berries; I have noticed a few spaced-out-looking birds perched in their branches though. We have the native V. acerifolium and V. dentatum (called arrowwood, because that's what the Indians used it for) growing wild in our woods, and I've planted V. plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesii', which is supposed to be Invasive here but is so beautiful in all seasons that I figured what the heck (I'll just keep an eye on it, which is easy to do). The Shasta is supposed to be an improved hybrid but I don't care for its rather solid presence; the plain old double-file is more open and graceful.

Mattrom @ 29