No 13420, Monday 06 Dec 2021, Dr. X

Solution to 3D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular / novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS

1   Ordinary soldier’s tragic end, protecting queen (8) SQUADDIE {S{QU}AD}{DIE}

5   Muslim ruler in fresh mess over termination of Khashoggi (6) SHERIF {SHER{k...gI}F*}

10 Drunkard outside pub shot student in side story (7) SUBPLOT {S{PUB*}{L}OT}

11 Injured over track, getting back pain (7) TORTURE {TOR{RUT<=}E}

12 Establishing the identity of one girl stealing racket (5) IDING {1}{DIN}{G}

13 Fellows in rustic hamlet making Swiss cheese (9) EMMENTHAL {EM{MEN}THAL*}

14 Where air hostesses might be busy escaping as fast as possible (2,4,6) IN FULL FLIGHT [DD]

18 Bright side is, primarily nice-looking girls live in building (6,6) SILVER LINING {Ni...g+GIRLS+LIVE+IN}*

21 Chewing slice of salami, bacon and ham in horse-drawn carriage (6,3) HANSOM CAB {Sa...i+BACON+HAM}*

23 Grant referendum? Britain exits (5) ALLOT bALLOT

24 Most frightful drunk’s back, starting to yell bawdily (7) DIRTILY {DIRe}{LIT<=}{Yell}

25 Most desirable set, endlessly enthralled by precious stone (7) OPTIMAL {OP{TIMe}AL}

26 Joint after ale, turning sluggish (6) LEADEN {DEN}<=>{ALE*}

27 Avoiding silly risk, good to save money (8) SKIRTING {RISK*}{TIN}{G}

DOWN

1   Bird in woods is kingfisher (6) SISKIN [T]

2   One possessed by ghost in mountainous region of Italy (6) UMBRIA {UMBR{1}A}

3   Industry covering up facts in murder (9) D?L?G?N?E (Addendum - DILIGENCE {LID<=}{I{GEN}CE} - See comments))

4   Where drinkers might be nicely high after scoring new drug is well-known (2,3,6,3) IN THE PUBLIC EYE {IN THE PUB}{nICELY}*{E}

6   Celebrity in front of national bird (5) HERON {HERO}{N}

7   Fume about missing diamonds, cash — it’s hard to digest (8) ROUGHAGE {R{dOUGH}AGE}

8   Pay studs to maintain large plots where livestock are fattened (8) FEEDLOTS {FEE}{D{L}OTS}

9   Hit around, top bowler left after dropping catch (9,5) STUMBLING BLOCK Anno pending (Addendum - {S{TMBLING}{Bo...r}{L}OCK} - See comments}

15 Honest review about northern troupe in English city (9) LANCASTER {LA{N}{CAST}ER<=}

16 Snake hole discovered around dead plant (8) ASPHODEL {ASP}{HO{D}EL*}

17 Arrange a broadcast about regenerative flatworms (8) PLANARIA {PLAN}{A}{AIR<=}

19 Former students from university in Milan reassembled (6) ALUMNI {AL{U}MNI*}

20 Depression about many killed in big German camp for POWs (6) STALAG {S{TAL}AG} Anno pending (Addendum - {S{TALl}AG} - See comments)

22 Colour I love — blue (5) OLIVE* 

Reference List

Queen = QU, Student = L, Girl = G, Britain = B, Good = G, Money = TIN, New = N, Drug = E, National = N, Diamonds = D,  Large = L, Northern = N, Dead = D, Left = L, University = U, Many = L

TalePiece

By Dr RKE

It is a pity that a region as beautiful as Italy’s UMBRIA is not on the tourist circuit. There are undulating green slopes leading to the valley of the River Tiber SKIRTING around the edge of the province. The hills beyond are dotted by caves famed for their STALAGmites. In the OLIVE orchards, you can hear the song of the SISKINs and the buzz of the bees drinking the nectar from the ASPHODEL bloom. You can spend a whole morning in meditative calm watching the HERONs on Lake Trasimeno. The FEEDLOTS in the farms have fattened pigs and their soft pork is an export delicacy. O, did I mention the Pecorino Umbro cheese that can give the best EMMENTHAL cheese from Switzerland a tough competition?

On this morning in 1894, this idyllic calm is broken by a shepherd who has chanced upon the body of a young woman near one of the caves. A local SQUADDIE pedals his bicycle at a furious pace to inform the SHERIFf at Perugia, who ALLOTs the case to Inspector Luca Giovanni, known for his DILIGENCE in investigating unnatural deaths. The fastest means to get to the village is on a HANSOM CAB but even that takes the best of 2 hours. In the meanwhile, the village cops are facing a STUMBLING BLOCK in IDING the body.  Going by the gashes and bruises, it appears that she has been the victim of TORTURE. Giovanni asks for what the cops have found on her person and they show a ring and a bracelet watch from the woman.

The ring is an unremarkable wedding ring without any engraved initials. The watch is a Mappin & Webb piece in gold that immediately indicates England as the probable origin of the victim. The detective turns over the body and, in the grass, he detects a badge. This is the veritable SILVER LINING. Being an ALUMNUS of the Royal Grammar School, LANCASTER, Giovanni recognizes that the badge belongs to The Royal Geographical Society. He sends wires to his contacts in London and in a short while, he discovers that the dead woman is Elizabeth Atkins, the recently married wife of Bradbury Atkins, an avid cave explorer, a man very much IN THE PUBLIC EYE for his daring exploits.  Bradbury is soon caught IN FULL FLIGHT while boarding a train at the Perugia station. He maintains that his dear wife had fallen accidentally while they went about exploring the cave.

Giovanni, for sure, knows that there is a SUBPLOT here. If it was only an accident, why did Bradbury flee from the scene? Is it a lover’s tiff or is there another woman? Or is it just to get the insurance or estate of the rich Elizabeth? Let us hope Giovanni reveals more of his finds in the next episode of “Italian Cop”, the series you can watch on Amazon Prime.

TalePiece

By Gowri

DOCTORS' REUNION

The ALUMNI of 1984, that graduated from Jipmer, Pondicherry, decided to have their 25th reunion in the walled town of Spello, at the foothills of UMBRIA, Italy.

To avoid any last minute STUMBLING BLOCKS, the itenary was planned almost 6 months back. So when a medical conference came up at LANCASTER,  just 1 week earlier, Dr. RKE decided to travel by train from Lancaster to UMBRIA. This would  be a contrast to the FULL FLIGHTS, that he was normally cursed to take. 

He knew, he would be early for the reunion, by a couple of days, but it would give him some much needed time to unwind, from his normal routine which was nothing short of a TORTURE on most days. 

As the train wound its way through scenic countryside, filled with ASPHODELS & daffodils, the doctor felt he could almost hear the songs of the SISKINS & the  chirping of the HERONS, as they flew over the lakes, SKIRTING the hillocks, so skillfully.

Arriving at Spello, late evening, he was delighted to see a HANSOM CAB, at the station. Apparently, a tourist whim, the driver was willing to give the Doctor a ride, to his cottage, in the same resort, where the class would be meeting 2 days later.

As he was climbing into his carriage, the Doc couldn't believe his eyes. Was that Monica Belluci, the famous actress from the 80s? Even though she wore no make up, IDING  her was easy. After all, she had been his favourite actress in college. He spent all the allowance ALLOTTED to him on watching her movies & buying posters of her, from the Trivia shop near his campus.

The cab driver informed him, that she owned a villa in town, which she frequented. She must be tired of always being IN THE PUBLIC EYE. Doc reminisced about her Bride of Dracula in Coppola's movie. Infact the black market rates for tickets of that movie, had created a record of sorts & for once, even the local SHERIFf had turned a blind eye. Only the SQUADDIES were sent to control the crowd.

After freshening up, the Doctor took a leisurely walk around the town square. The SILVER LINING was, even though he was in Italy, there were no Pizza parlours or Burger joints. He normally referred to these as FEED LOTS. Choosing a vegetarian restaurant, he chose a street side table. 

Well who should he see, for the 2nd time that day!! Dressed in an OLIVE green gown, the way she glided, there were no ROUGH edges to her. And surprise of surprises, she stopped at his table & smiling, joined him for dinner. She said, she loved India & Indians. With great DILIGENCE, he relegated her with his fanboy moments. Frequently flashing her brilliant smile, they finished their simple dinner of pasta sprinkled with EMMENTHAL & a green salad of ROUGHAGE. 

Bidding her Goodbye with ' Arrivederci !' he almost skipped back to his cottage. He thought his day couldn't get any better, but he was wrong! 

Who should he see, virtually outside his door, but Dr.X, his old classmate & room mate of 5 years? He too had arrived early for the reunion. When & how did they lose touch mystified both of them. The entire night was spent catching up & rehashing old stories like stealing PLANARIA from their lab for fun etc. They couldn't believe how DIRTILY maintained their hostel room had been, each blaming the other for it. Dr. RKE, shared his details of meeting Monica Belluci & together they tried to OPTIMALLY guess her age. After all, she had been the oldest Bond Girl in Spectre.

But their biggest surprise & delight came the next day morning. Dr.X confessed that his pet hobby was setting crosswords, difficult ones at that & these he did under the name of Brain Picker. His Crosswords were featured regularly in a famous daily & today was the day of his 150th puzzle. More over, he actively participated in a blog, that solved these puzzles & discussed them on a daily basis

Dr. RKE, sheepishly confessed that he too was an active member of the blog & went under the name of Tale Spinner. What is more, he added a SUBPLOT, daily, by spinning a tale, using the Crossword solutions.

Both of them couldn't believe their own ears. They had been silent admirers of each other for so....long, without even knowing their real identities. This is bonding, in the true sense. 

Well, the rest of the class arrived 2 days later & the highlight of the reunion was the last day Dinner & Dance, for which Monica Belluci was a special guest. Dancing with almost each one of them, she made it memorable. It was with a LEADEN heart, that they said their Goodbyes at the end of the week. But Dr.X  & Dr. RKE exchanged ' Arrivederci!' which roughly translated to 'Till We Meet Again!'

With this promise & fresh hope in their hearts, they boarded their respective flights, knowing fully well that they would meet soon, in a sequel to this story.