EV 924

[devadolly]

[EGTB]

Hi Which puzzle and clue did you need help with?

[devadolly]

I've done it again - pressed the wrong key! Stress, stress, stress........
Haven't actually looked at today's paper and don't have much hopes either, but after seeing how lonely the posts were for last week (no, I didn't see that EV either) I thought i would 'check in' and say I was still in the land of the living.
Welcome back to England Christina, don't have much in the way of mare's tail around here, just that bane of all livestock the noxious ragwort. How are you doing with the soft fruit?
Anyone have any knowledge of Physicsgirl, isn't mini2 due about now?
Hello to all our other regulars worldwide, if you have all clevercloggsed your way through the puzzle by noon have a good N & C.

[dr b]

Good morning from stormy St Louis, DD. I thought this was an excellent puzzle; the treatment of the thematic clues is not hard to latch on to, but tracking down all the answers was great fun. Very well constructed puzzle!

[turnerjmw]

Afternoon all. I agree, dr b, this was quite good fun, and as well put together as all of Lato's puzzles. But I was far slower than I should have been to realise what was going on.

[DocHH]

Hello everyone,
Defitely more of a challenge this week, had to brace myself when I saw the compiler was Lato.

[DocHH]

Or perhaps even, definitely!

[DocHH]

OK, dinner now in the oven and time to N&C, and have poured a thematic whisky as an aperitif. Dinner will be washed doen with a South Australian Wollemi. On offer at Sainsbugs, £5.99, but 2 for £7.00, plus a further 5% discount for buying 6 bottles!

Breezy, but sunny down here.

drb, was that you commenting on 15squared, AKA 225, about noBElist?

Devadolly, you are correct last week was quite quiet, to be honest boringly so, not sure about mini2, but must be sometime soon.

Novalis, I think you were granted your wish with this weeks EV.

[dr b]

Hi doc; that was indeed me at 15x15. Rain has stopped just in time for baseball to start!

[midazolam]

this took a lot longer than most EVs. Although a rapid start, but as I did not get the theme until late, it was slow going until the penny dropped. More enjoyable than most that rely on unclued entries as a theme.

[slaney]

The third Lato crossword I've done in as many weeks, and like the others, very enjoyable with some witty touches.
Even though I had an idea as to how the unclued lights might be constructed, it took some time for it all to slot into place.

[Jogler]

Agree with everything said so far - many thanks to Lato. Late off the blocks for us as we had our annual Street Barbecue yesterday - lots and lots or rain but not too cold so it all went with a swing. It is lucky we are a hardy breed - only two people didn't turn up, and not for weather related reasons! Have found a keeper recipe for spare ribs (memphis style rub dr b), and our local organic farmer provides burgers to be worshipped.

That ragwort is getting to be very troublesome Dd - does it have to be burned?

[devadolly]

Hello All, have had a quick look and it does look doable even if I haven't started properly. You are a hardy breed Jogler's, wouldn't have got me outside yeasterday, in fact have just scuttled round the raspberry canes at speed, I don't know what is the matter with them this year - they have gone mad and it is all very well picking them, it's the rest of the effort involved in processing them that becomes a bind.
As to the ragwort, burning is the best cure although what we find on the road-side we let passing traffic mangle it. As long as it doesn't get anywhere near livestock and isn't allowed to seed. The problem isn't the growing plant, animals don't touch it, but if it seeds into haylage or silo fields, it is cut before it can be seen and it is the wilted plant that is poisonous when eaten during the winter - rots the liver I think.

[AndrewG-S]

Have had a first go at this and very much enjoying it, first PDM so a reasonable idea on what is going on with the thematics at least I think I know what the "repeated" means. We are all raspberried out too, I find taking them to my mother in law to make jam is the best approach! As for weeds bindweed is the local bete noir (or blanc I suppose would be more appropriate).

Apologies DocHH for lack of posting last week, I was on holiday and could only read the site rather than add anything to it.

[Jogler]

It was warm, Dd.... and these Yorkshiremen are definitely hardy. We did have a huge bit of tentage over our heads to keep the water out of the wine! Raspberry pavlova was my offering to the pudding table.... do you want me to send some meringue your way - if I put it on a raft it should be in Preston by breakfast time!

[dr b]

Jogler - one would think given my location I would prefer Kansas City BBQ, but I do not much care for the tomato/molasses based sauce that defines that style. North Carolina (eastern) is my favorite, as it uses the whole hog (rather than just the ribs) and has a vinegar rather than tomato based sauce (served at the table, never applied during cooking!). For some reason Western N.C. barbecue uses tomato based sauce. Memphis style is also good as long as it's "dry" (rubbed) not "wet" (sauced while cooking). We do love our BBQ over here.

[AndrewG-S]

dr b with that level of BBA knowledge I think you should be turning your hand to setting a BBQ based EV, we throw the meat on and over cook it, that it if it is not raining or blowing a gale

[kayakamina]

Having been away at the golf in Scotland I only got around to this EV today but thoroughly enjoyed it.

Slaney, if you come back on here, could you please tell me which other publications have had a crossword set by Lato recently.?

[slaney]

Hi K - they were Listener No 4094 Wet Wet Wet,
and Inquisitor 1133 Right (?)

I'm glad you enjoyed the golf - it looked a bit breezy.

[kayakamina]

thanks slaney.

I'll see if I can locate a copy of the Inquisitor.

It was a bit windy at times at the golf and the only one who seemed unruffled was the young South African who won so calmly. Great composure by a very good prospect.

Regards K

[DocHH]

Devadolly & AndrewG-S,
This weeks EV offering is emininently do-able, albeit needing attention to detail. On the weed front my nightmare is campanula which spreads through the rockeries like wild-fire, then there is the ground elder and cow parsley which fortunately are confined to the back end of the garden, which is covered in trees. On the other hand in that area there are a lot of cyclamen, some of the corms are as big as dinner plates. Come september it is a delight to see them all in flower, the variegated leaves make a nice show once the flowers have died down. That area also has lots of bluebells, so in early summer sitting near there is quite fragrant!
Andrew, hope you had a really nice holiday, somewhere nice I hope!
Have been trying to wear out a garden chair again today. Weather still bright and sunny here, and the breeze has died down. Have a days work tomorrow, in the great metropolis, that's it until september!
I've no desire to be contentious, but didn't a sage say that "golf is a way of destroying a good walk?"