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Hi Geeker,

I did actually wonder if you might sit this one out completely, so kudos for getting so far:-) Even to us 'locals' some of the Scottish towns or 'burghs' took a lot of Googling, although that might say more about me than the puzzle 🤔

I've just discovered GothamChess on YouTube - it is so good to listen to someone who doesn't constantly umm and err every other word - and rare!

Brendan,
I've seen a few of Levy Rozman's videos, and he's good. He's achieved a remarkably large following, and deserves credit.
Latvian GM Arturs Neikšāns is a chess streamer I really enjoy. His banter blitz sessions on chess24 (perhaps archived on youtube?) were great, and I like his tournament commentary. He's pretty obscure, much less known than Levy. Also an articulate gent, most impressive for a non-native English speaker.
GM Peter Leko (I saw him signing autographs Lékó Péter as a teenage prodigy at the Intel NY Rapids in 1995, though he seems not to have played in the event) is my favorite chess commentator. Tremendous erudition and infectious love of the game.

Hi Jono
Thanks for your hints. I got 1d, which confirmed 13ac and I guessed at 20ac, but I've no idea what 36d is - I'm not sure what a subtractive anagram is, I assume you take some letters out of the anagram to solve it. But I couldn't find any Scottish Highland villages.

But I'm giving up now. I will see how my friend in Sheffield has got on when I speak to her tomorrow. Depending on what I have to do tomorrow, I may give it another try. But I do not like answers that don't include all the wordplay. It seems to me that it is against the whole rules of a cryptic crossword, which should include the definition and the wordplay. And a number of the answers are very obscure. No fun!

If I don't get back to the Forum, I wish all the Forum members a happy Christmas and an exciting New Year and I look forward to joining you all in 2022.

Hi Roof,

If memory serves, you and your friend from Sheffield both enjoyed the previous Maskarade (which I didn't do) but I understand your reservations with this one. There is an awful lot of Googling required, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but not really in keeping with the general ethos of cryptic crosswords.

Rest assured, if you do continue to carry on, we'll be here to offer any assistance needed:-)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year:-)

Has anyone got any hints for 52 down? I have _ I _ G _ E in (but the G may well be wrong)

Hi Docrum,

52 - Is a homophone type clue where the definition is a "brown pigment" but it sounds like/'said' an "Oxfordshire market town".

Yes, your G is wrong.

If it's any help ...

6oa - Is thematic with the wordplay being "hearses wait regularly" and definition is "at that point"

Cheers, got there! I was on the right lines, I'd just never heard of that particular brown pigment...

Thanks Docrum, the spellings are also quite different!

Don't know about others, but I thought this was the easiest Maskarade I have encountered , and an enjoyable puzzle once the (clever) theme was resolved. Without the explanatory preamble it would have made a good Listener.

Many thanks and best wishes for all who contribute to these forums.