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Hello, Elle.
Strange about your son not arriving as planned?
Hope things are OK.
Seems to be quite a bit of snow in the Midlands.
22, I have "orphan" but am not over the Moon with it.
The Chinese folk are "Han", and "orp or pro reversed" is a bit of a mystery.
An orphan would not necessarily be lonely?
One meaning of orphan is "club-line, qv" whatever that means?
That is the best I can do, Elle.
Not very satisfactory, though!

Han was a Chinese dynasty and, I think, a name given to some Chinese people today.

I think we were taught about the second-best bed in school, or perhaps when I went round Anne Hathaway's cottage in Stratford as a teenager. I've always wondered if it was an insult, like being left a shilling, but it turns out he left his house to his daughter Susannah and his best bed would have stayed with that. The bequest of the bed was added only a short time (9 months) before Shakespeare actually died.

Good info, Rosalind!
I never knew Shakespeare had a daughter, Susannah.
So, were he and Anne divorced, I wonder?
An unusual tale about best and second-best beds!

Hi, Rusty!
I did not know about "Han" being a Chinese dynasty.
As far as I know "pro" is the Latin for "on behalf of".
But in this day and age could probably mean anything at all!
I sometimes find it depressing how the English language changes....
I know language has to evolve, but there are times....!?
I do not think that "lonely" is the same as "being alone" - surely a misuse here of the word "lonely" with regard to being an orphan?
( Maybe a letter to Rose is needed here......!)
Shakespeare not only had a daughter , Susanna (Anne was pregnant when they wed) but twins born later!
No, I don't think Shakespeare and his wife were ever divorced.



Thank you, Ros, for the extra info about Shakespeare!
We read a lot of his plays at school, but didn't learn much about his background that I can recall.

Hello, Elle!
Nowadays, I think Han are the native Chinese people, as distinct from the Mongols etc.
I suppose at a stretch, if you were "behind" someone, as in supporting them, you could be "pro" them?
But I do not get "lonely" for orphan.
I have scoured Anne Bradford's book in vain for a connection.
I just think we are missing something, possibly something the setter knows, and we don't.
Which is a tad annoying, but life goes on!
I'll maybe look on YouTube later to see if the puzzle has been vlogged today.
Bit early yet.
Bit odd old Shakespeare favouring his daughter ahead of his wife, if they were not divorced.
Were divorces allowed back then?

Rusty, Elle, I didn't much like Orphan = lonely, but Chambers does say 'orphan: a short line at the end of a paragraph (printing) ' So we should really have thought of it as 'lonely type'/stuff that has been set as type. I sometimes appreciate being misdirected!

Great, Malone!
I think that's it!
I have found this, which suggests an "orphan" is on it's own or left dangling!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orphans

Hello, Malone!
My Chambers does not have the "printing" orphan.
It mentions "club-line", though.
Wonder if that is the same?

Thanks, Rusty. I initially couldn't see past 'orphan = lonely', and getting indignant about that, whereas I should have concentrated more on 'lonely type'.

Thank you, Malone!
Yes, I think you have "cracked" it!
My thoughts were turning to it should have been "alone" rather than "lonely"........
I did not look up "orphan" in the dictionary (or elsewhere) as I did not think there was any other meaning than the usual one!
Yes, what you have found out does make sense of the clue1
Very well done!