Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

I am going to have to use my car more- heard today the company who runs the buses is axing them all to my village. Another village nearby is losing its only pub. I don't care much about pubs- we have two, neither serving edible food.
I got a T shirt I ordered for my grandson - in 48 hours from the USA! Very expensive but he loves it. I wouldn't have ordered it at all if I had known it was coming from America, so many parcels have gone missing.
For more than 20 years I have been looking for my 3x great grandmother, who was a Baptist (so no infant baptisms). She also moved round Northumberland as her husband was a farm servant as far as I can tell. I believe I have finally found her dying in Sunderland at the age of 97!!! How did anyone survivve the filth (butcher's waste, human waste, pigs etc all running down the streets) and avoid smallpox, cholera and typhoid for that long?

Hi, Rusty!
Ah, now that is another thing about my newly arrived book.......no dust cover!
So no.......no goose on the front!
I am intrigued? Does this goose play a prominent part in the story?
(Is it old and grey? Should we tell Aunt Rhody?)
I thought you were en route for the garage this morning......did you decide after all, not to go?
The evening has whizzed by....... in between receiving several phone calls, I have managed to finish my book.
Now.......which to read next.......I have put them in order of arrival.......shall I stick to that decision?
That would make it "The Fatal Englishman" by Sebastian Faulks.
Has your son been a-visiting?

Hello, Rosalind!
Cars are handy but can be a mixed blessing, i've found.
I have had a few parcels from USA with no problems, although sometimes they take what appears to be a roundabout route.
I have had German postmarks on them!
97 is a very good age to reach.
The hygeine in far off times does not bear thinking about, but most of them survived it....hence us!

The life expectancy in Sunderland then was 29!

Hello, Elle!
No goose on the front!
Goodness! That won't do.
The goose is Onk-or, a large male Canada goose.
He is very much part of the tale, yes.
Not a goose to be messed with!
Aunt Rhody is best left out of this, Elle.
I found out what was wrong with my exhaust, and I just phoned for an opinion on plan A, or plan B.
We went for plan C.
Yes, my son was here, and brought me a meal from the butcher.
Mince, tatties, and peas.
That shall be my tea tomorrow!

Hi, Rusty!
I have decided upon "The Fatal Englishman" ....I shall stick to my plan to read the books in the order in which they arrived.
Having just read a detective novel, I am now going for the more serious theme of three separate biographies of young men who all died relatively young.
This book was apparently originally called "The Artist, the Airman, and the Spy" - three totally separate biographies; but, as Faulks wrote the biographies, various links emerged and some similarities which bound the characters together.
Faulks thus changed his title to encompass these similarities......"The Fatal Englishman" .................
but the stories remain separate.
The book sounds intriguing...I am looking forward to coming to grips with it.
I very much like Sebastian Faulks as an author.
Mince, tatties and peas sounds good! at least, if they are 'mushy' peas?




Hello, Ros!
So what will happen to anyone who either does not own a car, or cannot drive for any reason?
Are they to remain a relative "prisoner" in your village?
I have never heard of such a predicament?
No public transport at all, Ros?
Or is there a train or a tram as an alternative?

Hello, Elle!
Who were the three young men who died?
Yes, I think I remember you mentioning Faulks before.
I do not know him.
They are garden peas, with mince, not mushy ones.
The meals sold by the butcher are very good.

Good morning, Rusty!
A trifle damp today...drizzle in the air.
The three young men written about in "A Fatal Englishman" (originally going to be called ""The Artist, the Airman, and the Spy") are as follows.....
The Artist: John Christopher Wood (7 April 1901 – 21 August 1930) — also known as Kit Wood — was an English painter born in Knowsley, near Liverpool.
The Airman: Flight Lieutenant Richard Hope Hillary (20 April 1919 – 8 January 1943) was a Battle of Britain pilot who died during World War II.
He wrote "The Last Enemy", based upon his experiences during the Battle of Britain.
and The Spy: Jeremy Wolfenden was a foreign correspondent and British spy at the height of the Cold War.
I had heard of none of these young men, but Faulks did a great amount of research into their lives and characters, before writing their biographies.
I am looking forward to reading it - I think it should be interesting.
This morning I have a friend coming round for coffee........
Crosswords will have to wait!
What are you up to?

Good day, Elle!
Dreich here!
There is the tiniest bell ringing about Wood and Wolfenden.
Should be a good read.
I have started the crossword and put it away until later.
Things to do!
Did 1 across, but cannot just quite get the parse, yet.
Something I am not seeing.
There is a reference to "E London" in it, and when I see that my heart sinks and I know it will be a struggle for me.
But, never mind, "step we gaily, on we go!"
Has your "tree fellers" sorted your tree yet.
Maybe it would just take two of them to do it?

Hi elle
No public transport whatsoever, not even a weekly bus (though the parish council might provide that). Some people used to catch the 8 am into Oxford to work , but the company axed that months ago. Nearest train at least 5 miles, no trams! Without a car or a mobility scooter, people living here will be trapped in the village. I guess the taxi service in the next (larger) village will do very well.
I could walk to the next village (doctor and, for now, a library) and catch a bus, but it would take 45-50 mins and I couldn't carry much. And that's now. It's also not a particularly safe walk, the roads are narrow with no pavement.
The bus company was fine until the County Council refused to compensate for the bus passes. The bus company cannot enforce payment from people with passes and also cannot refuse to carry them. I think the problem might be solved if those with passes (except if on pension credit etc) only entitled one to child fare.
Oxfordshire is deemed a rich county, so the government gives the Councils far less per head of population than many others, like Northumberland.