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Hello, Elle!
Yes, I understand what you mean about "The Voice" but it is a bit gimmicky for my taste and most of the singing is pretty average, I think.
My hair was cut last week.
Usually do two trims a year, or three at most.
No athletics for me today.
I had the golf on all day and had a brief look at Le Tour but nothing exciting going on.
Pyrenees on Tuesday!
Apparently they have imported some bears from Slovenia to improve the breeding stock.

Good morning, Rusty!
Whew! My goodness , it is hot here!
28C at 8am!!
I have just staggered home from my walk.
According to our local forecast, we can expect this for at least another two weeks........!
Nice and cool indoors though, thanks to all our high-powered fans.
When does your family come up to London?
I hope they will have a nice time....river trips might sound a pleasurable option!
Hampton Court in one direction ..... and Greenwich , and various museums in the other, not to mention seeing the Thames Barrier.
You have the Pyrenees today , don't you, on the cycling tour...... with maybe a bear or two...?



Hello, Ros!
I was reading the other day that all this latest trend of DNA testing (home kits) to find out one's ancestry is unearthing all sorts of link with Royalty!
How are you coping with the heat up your way?
Far too hot for comfort here!

Good morning, Elle.
It is warm here, too.
My family are going to London today.
I have no idea what their plans are, though.
Will hear when they return.
No cycling today.
This is a rest day.
Pyrenees and the bears tomorrow.
They cross the Col de Portet d'Aspet and I am wondering if they will stop and pay their respects at the memorial to Fabio Casartelli who was killed on there a few years ago.
Fabio rode with Armstrong on the Motorola team.
Good puzzle today.
However, I cannot parse 22a!
It is a spelling I have not came across before, but that's OK.
It is the parse that has me stumped.
I shall return to it later!

Hi, Rusty!
Yes, it would be a nice gesture for the competitors to pay their respects to a fellow cyclist by stopping at the memorial......
I agree with you..... a good puzzle today......even I have managed to complete it!
My favourites are 4d: Sadducee; 5d: adjust; 12a: unsheathe; and 21a: Chinatown
I had three new words to contend with , though.......
"Jehu"....I didn't know he was a dangerous chariot driver...although I knew he was the son of Jehoshaphat!
"edacious" and "cohoe!
This last Anne B kindly supplied to me!
I can parse it, though, if you still need help with that later?
( It would make a change if I could help you!)

Hello, Elle!
For 21a, I had "Chicagoan" for a wee while!
Probably not a word at all!
I had "Jehu" but I never explored who the "demon driver" is/was.
I did not know "coho" could be spelled with an "e" at the end.
"H" is hotel, and "E" is the quarter.
I am left with "coo" to parse.
Up here a "coo" is an animal that we get milk from but I can not see any reference to that in the clue?
Yes, could you please parse it for me, Elle?

Hi, Rusty!
I looked "Jehu" up in Chambers...... and that explained about the dangerous driving!
Now "cohoe" was completely new to me.
I have "cohoe" = salmon (definition)
coo - my (an exclamation!)
h - hotel
E - quarter.
If you are doubting "coo" and "my" , I have just this very minute double checked with Anne B!

Hello, Elle!
I never heard of "Jehu" before.
"Coo" means "my"?
Well, it has certainly passed me by!
I knew "cor" can mean "my" in Londonland.
Never ever heard of that meaning of "coo" before!
"Coo" to me is a "cow".
Well, that has been an educational puzzle today, Elle, what with Jehu and coo!
But, if you and Anne B say so, that will be just jim-dandy with me!

Hi elle
The heat is worse today, I did some gardening until 8.30 and then gave up!
I am sure a lot of the DNA connections to royalty will be from the wrong side of the blanket! I am not completely sure of one connection yet, and need to check it in Burke's peerage. I have a feeling I may be wrong, which would be sad.

Hi, Rusty!
I had never heard the word "jim-dandy", Rusty, before I met you......but I like it!
It is a lovely expression!
Now.......dog and I have just crept in from the garden...... talk about oppressive out there.....
Going outdoors is just like a having a thick woolly blanket thrown over one's head!
Almost impossible to breathe........
This is by the worst day we have experienced so far in this current heatwave......
I am definitely inside now for the remainder of the day!
I am half way through a new book ... a crime thriller by Peter Robinson.......most appropriately entitled "In a Dry Season"!
It is light and entertaining...suitable for the heat....
I also have Saturday's Diamond League in Monaco yet to watch.
What are you up to?

Hello, Elle!
I think you must have hotter heat than we do!
It is very warm but I think Thursday is meant to be the hottest.
I didn't know Peter was writing books?
I am not doing anything much.
I have a funeral to attend tomorrow.
So making sure I have a presentable shirt and polishing the shoes etc.
Do not think I will need a jacket.
Actually, I have always taken the view that it does not matter what you wear to a funeral.
It is the attendance that is the important thing.
The nest has been empty most of the day.
I believe there has been an osprey chick killed during "ringing" up North.
A blooming shame!