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Hi, Rusty!
Yes, that is ringing bells now about bodies in a field!
No, I don't know whether that DNA comparison ever went ahead?
I too heard no more about it?
Surely, if anything had ever come of it, it would have made Headline News?
Now....have you done your crossword, yet?
I found today's very straightforward and logical?
I have even done all the parsing!
How about that, then ?!
I think, though, that there must be a typing error in 15D;.
Should the clue not read "prisoner" rather than "prison"?
The answer being "confined" = kept in cell (def)
con - prisoner
fined - punished
We are shortly going out to see to the cat....... more cuddles !



I hope your cousin stays safe, Jazzgirl.

Hello Jazzy,

Yes, thank you, I am safe - I am over 700 kms north of the area.

It is horrific indeed - we are unfornutaly used to fires in the south
every year, but this time it is endangering lives and habitations;
I really feel for the people in the area, be it permanent residents
or tourists.
On top of it, as luck would have it, a strong wind - the Mistral - has
been blowing over the past few days. It all seems out of control.

I hope your friend will not be in any danger

Pleased that you are safe, Pigale. My cousin is safe, but very nervous. She has been a permanent resident for 20 yrs. In 2003 the fires reached Cavalaire and she was evactuated then. One of her friends died and also one of the "pompiers" and she still has sleepless nights whenever the fires arrive in the area.

Hello Rusty,

Sorry, I have only just seen your reply to my post;

Yes, I am quite a way away from them - France is a big country
and I live just North of Centre.
It has been extremely dry down South (and here too really, in comparison to other years), so this, combined with heat and dry
vegetation, and now strong wind, gives you these terrible fires.

It only takes a spark to start a fire, with such dry vegetation, such as the sparks you sometimes see on railway lines when a train comes by; or a cigarette bud not put off properly, or a piece of glass in direct sun, or just extreme heat on bone dry vegetation.

I have seldom seen it quite that bad though; dreadful for the
people in the area, and for the area itself!

That is quite understable Jazzy - I think I would have moved, not
leaving the South of France, but to a less endangered area.

No one can persuade her to move, Pigale. She loves living there and she has a large circle of friends (including many English ) I would not have been so brave as to remain living there ! The fire reached La Croix Valmer yesterday, which is the next village to hers.

Hello, Elle!
The last I heard was that Russian and American "experts" were disagreeing on the results on the bodies.
They were not sure if the female was Maria or her younger sister Grand Duchess Anastasia.
They were to be buried with the rest of the family though, but I do not know if that has happened.
What did happen though, was that the Russian Orthodox Church elevated the murdered royal family to the status of "passion bearers" which is the equivalent of "sainthood".
Excuse my irreverence but a "passion bearer" sounds to me like a lovesick teenager! Like "carrying a crush!"
I will try and find out more at tonight's "evening classes" on YouTube.
I have not looked at my paper or the crossword yet.
Occasionally an error appears and Mr Rogan's job as crossword editor is to prevent this happening!
But con(vict) is a prisoner, "can" is the prison.
With what you say, Elle, it appears there is an error?


Hello, Pigale!
Glad to hear you are well away from the fires.
Must be a terrifying experience for those in the vicinity.
I had a book once about the "smokejumpers" in Montana, and the dreadful fires they were parachuted into, to try and stop them.
Very, very, brave folk.
They made a film about one fire called "Red Skies of Montana".
Richard Widmark starred in it.
It was based on the "Mann Gulch" fire, way back in the Forties, I think.
Most of the smokejumpers were killed, unfortunately.

Yes, I have heard of Red Skies of Montana - I remember my husband
mentioning it and in fact, I believe he actually saw the film.
The Mann Gulch fire was in 1949 (according to google).

Hello, Pigale!
I saw the film many years ago.
I liked Richard Widmark.
I can not find my book about the smokejumpers but I believe at one time there was a smokejump crew made up of inmates from a local prison which was used, too.
There is actually a bit on Wikipedia about the Mann Gulch fire.
Amazing the info that is out there!

That smokejump crew reminds me of The Dirty Dozen!