Inquisitor 53 SOME OF THE THINGS by Quixote

It’s that time of year! “In the Bleak Midwinter” last week and “The Twelve Days of Christmas” this week.

Two of our tiumvirate went to the Temple Church Choir’s carol service at the Royal Courts of Justice this year and one of the readings was the hilarious John Julius Norwich version of the twelve days’ correspondence, ending (appropriately) with the Solicitor’s letter.

So the down clues had letters missing which spelled out MY TRUE LOVE SENT TO ME, and this led to three-letter extracts of eleven of the the twelve presents. The twelfth was derived from the day number and, as such, constitutes a fowl (sic – a lot of birds involved in the presents!), for which one of our number has issued a yellow card!

Each extract was a valid word or name. In diagram order they were:

Across, top to bottom:
A PARtridge in a pear tree
Eleven PIPers piping
Two turtLE Doves
Seven sWANs a-swimming
Twelve dRUMmers drumming
Three fRENch hens

Down, left to right:
FOUR calling birds Yellow card for this one!
Eight mAIDs a-milking
Ten lordS A-Leaping
Nine ladies DANcing
Five gOLD rings
Six geeSE A-laying

Solving time : Done in bits, but completed in a couple of hours (not at Biddlecome speed!) and interrupted by a four-and-a-half-hour drive along the busy A303!