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Hello, Elle!
I would not depend on those rangers!
A very nice puzzle today, Elle.
11a is a homothingy.
The other two are fairly straightforward but I shall "haud my wheesht" just now about them, as I am sure you will get them.
I learned that Basil Rathbone was a very brave man and was awarded a Military Cross and seemed to be a very decent man.
His men thought highly of him.
There is a chapter on Nigel Bruce, too.
He played Dr Watson.
Nigel Bruce was in pain all his life from the effects of machine gun bullets.
CS Lewis was wounded too and had a lump of shrapnel in his chest all his life.
There is a lovely mural in Belfast of CS Lewis, on a wall, depicting Narnia etc.
(That's not in the book, but I have seen it several times)
Read about John Reith who became head of BBC.
Not a very nice man. He fell out with everyone he met.
Jesus would not want him to be a sunbeam!
I liked the two opera girls, but that was all I have seen.
They would be worthy winners!

Hello, Elle!
Here's the CS Lewis mural in Belfast.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3677874

Hello, Elle,
The Norn Iron mural!

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-norn-iron-mural-painted-at-carnforth-street-in-east-belfast-on-a-northern-109747712.html

Hi, Rusty!
Well, the best laid plans etc........
I did not see all of the "The Voice"!
I have spent some of the time chatting on the phone......
Lovely though it is to talk......why do folk ring at the very worst times?
Fortunately "The Voice" is repeated tomorrow, and I shall set the recorder for it, so that I might watch the show in its entirety , instead of in bits and pieces like I have this evening.
What I did manage to watch was great......and all were very good.
The ones that stood out for me were Donel and Ruti......and they went through to a sing -off between the two of them.
A further vote taking place then, to be added to the previous count.
To my personal delight, Ruti won!
You might be able to find her later on YouTube?
You should watch the next series of shows.......see what you think?
"The Voice: Kids" should be coming up next.
It works on the same principle as the adult show.
I love the murals...especially the C.S Lewis one!

Hello, Elle!
I shall look for Ruti tomorrow!
Did the opera girls not figure?
There are several CS Lewis and Aslan murals in Belfast.
Just read another two chapters of my book.
Alexander Fleming, and RC Sherriff.
The chapter on Fleming was great.
He was a remarkable man.
It is a very good book.
Next two chapters are on Bernard Montgomery and Ned Parfett.

Hi, Rusty!
I liked the earlier reference to "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam" ...... we used to sing that at Sunday school!
We also used to sing "Hear the pennies dropping", as we walked round putting in our collection money.
Those were the days......
("Those were the days, my friend"..... Mary Hopkin?)
11a...of course, a homophone!
Now why didn't I see that...I had "knit" for "fabric" (def) and "nit" meaning "silly person"...but was trying to account for the "k".......
Oh, I could kick myself!!!
19a: Many people apply to wrap back in sponge rubber (8)
Masseuse = rubber (def)
mass- many people
But the rest?
Back to "The Voice".........
There were four lots of finalists - Ruti, Donel, Lauren and "Belle Voci", the two girls.
They all performed, first by themselves, and then a duet with their coach....
Then the public voted.
The two acts with the most votes......Ruti and Donel..... then sang again.
The public could vote again......the additional votes being added to the previous totals for those two competitors.
I thought Ruti a worthy winner.
Yes, do listen to her tomorrow - I shall be interested to learn what you think.

Hello, Elle!
Jesus would certainly not be wanting Lord Reith to be a sunbeam!
A horrible man!
19, Mass is right, with use/apply wrapped around back in spong"e".
A masseuse is a rubber.
Yes I shall look up Ruti tomorrow.
Been watching the golf.

Hello, Elle!
Just watched Ruti. She sang "Dreams"?
That was one of my very favourite songs, by the Cranberries and Dolores O'Riordan!
Ruti was very good at it.
Mind you, I was a big fan of Dolores O'Riordan.
She died earlier this year.

Hi, Rusty!
I couldn't see "use" around the "e" from "sponge".....oh dear!
I think I'm going backwards ......not making any progress at all!
I'm glad you liked Ruti!
She comes over as a very nice person, too.
What time are you going out with Miss O tomorrow?
We are taking the dog out early, so as to be home for the family arriving.
Although realistically, I doubt they will be here before lunch time.
How was the golf?

Good morning, Elle!
I think you are doing fine at the puzzles!
I thought yesterday's was a good one by a first class setter.
If you are struggling with one, put it to one side, and try again later.
I think that often works well.
I am sure you will be fine on today's puzzles, if you have time to do them!
I will have another look at Ruti today sometime.
I liked the choice of song, always been a favourite of mine.
Golf is going well.
I have the cycling to watch today.
It is Paris-Roubaix, my very favourite race.
I'll miss a bit when I meet my granddaughters, but will be back in plenty time before the race hits the Forest of Arenberg and the top riders come to the fore.
I'll be cheering for Sagan, and I hope Geraint Thomas goes well.