Listener Crossword 4524 - A Little Night Music By Hedge-Sparrow

[starwalker]

A delightful puzzle that is typical of this setter. Not too difficult but always entertaining - a characteristic that is often overlooked. Thanks Hedge-sparrow

[AHearer]

My only gripe is that the author would surely have known, and (given his/her name) the setter ought to know that only one of the protagonists fits the poem, and it's not the one that goes under the grid.

[starwalker]

Nice to see you back, AHearer.

[12barblues]

Seem to be in a ‘hard-easy’ cycle at the minute, but easy certainly does not mean not enjoyable. A classical Listener, a quote leading to highlighting a fair amount of thematic material, without too much head-scratching. Thank you HS.

[Philoctetes]

Agree with all that has been written. I had mis-remembered the next line, which didn't help. But a pleasant stroll through beloved areas.

[Hagen]

This was less of a struggle than last week, certainly, but I didn't find it particularly easy. I had difficulty identifying where some of the extra letters fitted in even when I'd got the poem, and made rather heavy weather of finding the replaced letters and some of the protagonists. Perhaps last night's beers didn't help.

Hedge-sparrow always produces enjoyable puzzles and this was no exception. A worthy inclusion to the Listener series.

Great to have you back, A Hearer, and I hope you will be staying with us!

[upsetter]

We agree with all the comments - the grid stare was not too onerous and the clues were tough but fair, although once the quote was identified the need to unpick the wordplay disappeared.

[sunny-dave]

A pleasant stroll - an old-skool Listener from the easier end of the scale - but certainly none the worse for that.

It's actually very refreshing to get virtually all of a puzzle done without deploying the heavy cyber-armoury.

Thanks Hedge-Sparrow - an excellent puzzle from a favourite setter.

[emcee]

An entertaining puzzle from a creative setter.

Strangely, I found the top half of the grid much quicker to fill than the bottom half.
When the alterations had been made to the completed grid, the penny finally dropped -- initially I was looking for something completely different.

Thanks Hedge-Sparrow; another great Listener.

[HappyUncle]

This was a treat. I found that the NW corner went in easily, but it was only by cracking the quote and author that I got started on the SE. As others have said, you know you're in safe hands when you see that it's a Hedge-sparrow puzzle ... but surely this one should have been by Malva?

[olichant]

Nice puzzle. Grid-fill not was not too hard, but I had to stare at the grid for a fair while before the replacements twigged.

I liked 32.