No 12888, Friday 20 Mar 2020, Gridman

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS ON FRIDAYS ONLY

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PLEASE NOTE, SOLUTIONS WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED

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Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS
1   Second’s view oddly absent — go elsewhere (4,4) MOVE AWAY {MO}{ViEw}{AWAY}
6   Oddly bold and extremely outstanding surfer’s journal (4) BLOG {BoLd}{Ou...nG}
9   Bird’s eggs thrown back by cheat regularly (6) AVOCET {OVA<=}{ChEaT}

10 Sets up site for cane supply to politicians (7) ENCAMPS {CANE*}{MPS}
13 Contaminated lake I abandoned (9) TARNISHED {TARN}{I}{SHED}
14 Protective cover one provided for mammal (5) COATI {COAT}{1}

15 Want massage, reportedly (4) NEED (~knead)
16 Brown in learner's study or where unused things are kept (6,4) LUMBER ROOM {L}{UMBER}{ROOM}
19 How the mridangist should play, not being late (2,4,4) IN GOOD TIME [DD]
21 Mean to change the last word (4) AMEN*
24 Head of faction facing defeat in movie (5) FLICK {Fa...n}{LICK}
25 Track two boys to where Combai may rest (3-6) DOG-KENNEL {DOG}{KEN}{NEL}
26 Wrongdoing of common property divider (7) OFFENCE {OF}{FENCE}
27 One who has left before suppressing fighter (6) EMIGRE {E{MIG}RE}
28 Reveal Tamil leader’s building annex (4) TELL {Ta..l}{ELL}
29 Taking a look over one game, be patient! (3,5) SIT TIGHT {S{1}{TT}GHT}

DOWN
2   Difficulty on leaving for old boy’s side (7) OBVERSE (-re+ob}OBVERSE
3   Rewriting clue one offered finally for mathematician (6) EUCLID {CLUE*}{I}{o...eD}
4   With central leader in, barbarian launches terrible persecution (5-4) WITCH-HUNT {WIT{Ce...l}H}-{HUN}{Te...e}
5   Finally many idle works give up (5) YIELD {manY}{IDLE*}
7   Backache arising out of a turn in tricky gambol (7) LUMBAGO {L{U}MBAGO*}
8   Progress smoothly in the pool perhaps (2,10) GO SWIMMINGLY [CD]
11 Roman author finds baker’s aide in company (6) CICERO {C{ICER}O}
12 What a pupil is expected to do vis-a-vis the headmaster (5,2,5) STAND IN FRONT [CD]
17 An invitation from a host that should please any visitor (2,2,5) BE MY GUEST [CD]
18 Guarantee army officer backing shortening of sort (4-2) LOCK-IN {COL<=}{KINd}
20 Early Frenchman hosting popular fellow is profitable (7) GAINFUL {GA{IN}{F}UL}
22 Monsieur working with chief ruler (7) MONARCH {M}{ON}{ARCH}
23 Stars, say, mounted on a car (6) GEMINI {EG<=}{MINI}
25 Daughter leans on model putting out costume (5) DRESS {D}{REStS}

Reference List
Second = MO, Lake = TARN, Learner = L, Before = ERE, Fighter = MiG, On = RE, Building annex = ELL, Old Boy = OB, Turn = U, Popular = IN, Fellow = F, Monsieur = M, Daughter = D, Model = T

Dr RKE's TalePiece

A GAINFUL history lesson in today's BLOG

What, you may ask, is the NEED to TELL the story of CICERO now? We need to study history, so as to not repeat its mistakes. So stay tuned, SIT TIGHT and BE MY GUEST, for IN GOOD TIME, you'll see that this story YIELDs a lesson relevant to this day.

Cicero lived in Rome, when Julius Caesar was the MONARCH. His star sign was GEMINI and it was predicted that he would make a mark in twin fields (which later turned out to be philosophy and politics). Troubled with LUMBAGO as he was, he realized he could never become a gladiator. The young man felt he could win better duels with oratory than swordmanship. He became proficient in Latin and Greek writings on philosophy and science, including the works of EUCLID and Plato. It was said he became a silver tongued orator by training to speak while STANDing IN FRONT of a mirror. He drew large crowds when he orated and his growing popularity made him a threat to the monarchy. He spoke of  the need to MOVE AWAY from monarchy to its OBVERSE, a republican government. The tolerance of the great Caesar ensured that their relation WENT SWIMMINGLY. He was safe until Caesar was alive. 

After Caesar's assassination, when the Second Triumvirate headed by Mark Antony, Cicero's arch enemy, took over, he was charged with the OFFENCE of sedition and was LOCKed IN a DOG KENNEL. He managed to escape and as an EMIGRE, he ENCAMPed in Arpino, his birthtown. He continued to TARNISH the image of the self-serving rulers. They launched a WITCH HUNT in retribution. Cicero was finally caught hiding in a LUMBER ROOM and summarily executed with a FLICK of the gladius.His unDRESSed corpse was publically exhibited by the vengeful Mark Antony in the Rostrum. 

The story tells us that we should watch out for the appropriate time and place to express our opinion, regardless of how noble our ideas are and how eloquent our expression. AMEN