Spot on ginge - thanks.
Cheers heathcliff, a good word to clue.
Once I saw "bear with" = "wait" I had to go with "sore head" = "s"
Not to everyone's taste maybe but it's an old debate. From The Guardian 27 Jan 2012 ;-
crossword setters of the school they tore down to build the old school might insist that each part of a clue be 100% grammatically correct. So while "maiden's head would be a kosher way of cluing an M, "Maidenhead" would not.
In a genuine puzzling environment in 2012, however, you might find it difficult to avoid setters who are a little more playful in how they ask you to find the first letters. In other words, keep a look out for Birkenhead, Leatherhead and others of that ilk, even if they irk.