Good day, NACW,
I'm very happy to claim that this seems to be my week at last!
Doc was no mystery for me this time as I cracked his theme quite early.
But I hope I'm not rejoicing too fast as there is still the matter of the missing shaded squares to deal with. Is this an editorial oversight?
Morning, Matakari. When I saw yesterday's puzzle, I knew you'd be in no way disadvantaged, I thought the theme would be right up your street, and Doc's clues were very much on the easy side. I just ignored the shaded squares thing, though I meant to check (again) to see if the online version had been altered.
I think this is a genuine mistake by the publisher or the proof reader (not the first time there has been a problem). The preamble implies that the shaded squares are already there - not for us to fill in. After all there are numerous possibilities for the name in the squares. No doubt there will be a correction next week. My advice is to hold fire on submitting until then.