Straight clues, but two unclued entries and then a cryptic instruction that will become clearer as the grid fills – I hope:
Two prize-winning FIRSTS must also be highlighted (32 cells in all). One prize-winner links the unclued entries; the other, a famous first, was celebrated on the feature that divides them.
I must admit to having had more than a little surprise when the theme of the puzzle came to light.
The unclued 13dn being NEWCASTLE – an anagram of yours truly and my current abode! with the other unclued down entry being GATESHEAD – the town I grew up in. So what links the two – well at one time there were Five bridges, but that number has risen in my lifetime The Swing Bridge, The High level Bridge, The Tyne Bridge, The Kind Edward Bridge and the Redheugh Bridge was the complete set in my youth. In those days on a summer’s day the walk across the river was only for those lacking a sense of smell! The Metro bridge arrived (It’s called the Queen Elizabeth officially but not commonly) then the Redheugh (pronounced red hewff) went and came back anew and the latest addition was the Millenium bridge as the 1900s reached their end. And then we had seven. So which one is in the grid – the latest: Gateshead’s own MILLENIUM BRIDGE – starting from the M next to the L in Newcastle and ending in the E next to the A in Gateshead, following a curvature similar to the bridge itself. And now the walk across the bridge from the restaurants and bars of Newcastle quayside to the Baltic, the Sage or indeed the Gateshead Hilton is a very pleasurable experience.
The RIVER TYNE (3rd row up) separates the two towns (yes Newcastle is a city but it is and will always be the Town or Toon).
And what of the other first, it took me a little while to find but having seen it the night before at a wedding I attended (in the Great Hall above its current resting place in the Newcastle Discovery Museum), I really had no excuse for such slowness. TURBINIA is in the 7th column – the first steam turbine powered ship developed by Charles Parsons. Size is not always important but originality is!
The across clues give a clue as an acrostic PARSONS (Turbinia) WILKINSON EYRE/ GIFFORD (Millenium bridge)
So two of the prize winning firsts from the North East – but there are so many more. And so nice to see Gateshead on an equal footing with its richer neighbour – Gateshead thinks big from the Angel, to the Metrocentre, the Sage and the Baltic – all products of Gateshead’s planners.
Many thanks Gnomie and also to the Telegraph editor for (albeit unintentionally) scheduling it to coincide with my blog. I think 11ac may be flawed, though I’m happy to be corrected. And the parsing of 38dn completely escapes me.
Key:
DD Double definition; Rev. reverse; * Anagram; Underline definition
Across
1 Properly organised gun dog; it hunts in circles surrounding significant people (13)
(gun dog it hunts)* = DOUGHNUTTINGS
11 Active section securing PA in party’s political machine (7)
I’ve parsed this as PA in A (active) + part (section) but that doesn’t give APPARAT
12 Rain and mud free in a French peasant community by end of May (6)
Un (a French) + Mir (peasant community) + y (end of May) = UNMIRY
13 Spick and span local cattle (4)
DD NEAT
15 Overwhelming unionist anger with legal power (4)
U (unionist) in ire (anger) = IURE
16 Northerner’s lie, ‘Drinks on the house for freeloaders!’ (3)
DD LIG
17 Sharing a cuddle during preparation for war (8)
In (during) + arming (preparing for war) = INARMING
18 What from time to time primarily renders nations alert (4)
WhAt (from time to time) + RN (primarily renders nations) = WARN
19 Insignia of Army Reserve British section (4)
TA (Army reserve) + B (British) + S (Section) = TABS
21 Lovely for Sheila, a suitor with time (5)
Beau (a suitor) + t (time) = BEAUT
22 Kinky game might be excellent (4)
(game)* = MEGA
23 Insect-borne parasitic worms found in sand crossing American river valley (8)
File(sand) around a (American) + Ria (river valley) = FILARIAE
26 Noggins circling goods at specially reduced prices (4)
Sale (goods at specially reduced prices) moving S (circling) = ALES
27 Superficial planetary feature seen in astronomic analyses (5)
Hidden astronomiC ANALyses = CANAL
28 Overturns extremities (4)
DD TIPS
30 Necessary equipment for piercing at an angle slope on Skye’s ridge (8, two words)
Slant (slope) + rig (Skye’s ridge) = SLANT RIG
33 Ed’s table, foremost of banquets with a point in the past (4)
B (foremost of banquets) + ord (a point in the past) = BORD
34 Yellow shade, for example, of metal and unit of weight (5)
Tin (metal) + ct (unit of weight) = TINCT
36 Roanoke’s cheeky talk cut short a provocative exclamation (4, two words)
Sass (cheeky talk) – s (cut short) + a = SA SA
37 Element in column about, say, Italian (4)
Rev. eg (say) + it (Italian) = TIGE
39 Groomed acer and a decorative shrub (8)
(acer and a)* = DRACAENA
41 Incompletely gain attention (3)
Earn (gain) – n (incompletely) = EAR
42 Forest’s cover that protects (deer maybe) (4)
Hidden coVER That = VERT
44 Fool’s run into hooligan (4)
R (run) in Ned (hooligan) = NERD
45 Obscure one-upmanship abandoning exotic nosh-up for street vendor (6)
(one-upmanship – nosh-up)* = PIEMAN
46 Reference books, historical records involving university (7)
Annals (historical records) around u (university) = ANNUALS
47 Divisions one observes around a rich set (13, two words)
Classes (divisions) + I sees (one observes) about a = CLASSES AISEES
Down
2 Theatre masonry styles (5)
DD OPERA
3 Where one might find ecowarrior in difficulties (7, three words)
DD UP A TREE
4 In error staging punishments by confinement to campus (7)
(staging)* = GATINGS
5 Snakes clipping tail of dragonfly larva (4)
Naiad (dragonfly larva) – d = NAIA
6 Kiwi’s settlement in Tuturuwahine (3)
Hidden tUTUruwahine = UTU
7 Announced conditions for troops (5)
Homonym terms (conditions) = TURMS
8 Italy to exploit organic compound (5)
I (Italy) + mine (to exploit) = IMINE
9 Miserably ailing antelope (6)
(ailing)* = NILGAI
10 South African getting me out of awful quagmire (6)
(quagmire – me)* = GRIQUA
14 Undiminished in skill managing people’s feelings (6)
In + tact (skill managing people’s feelings) = INTACT
20 Amateur service set up at a distance (4)
A (amateur) + Rev. (RAF(service)) = AFAR
24 Commonly filches fag ends (4)
DD LAGS
25 Priest’s vestment, no matter which, in Ancient Britain (6)
Alb (priest’s vestment) + any (no matter which) = ALBANY
28 Rising sun at ordinary time reveals flier (7)
Rev. (Sun + at + o + t) = TOTANUS
29 Island on about plan for flowers (7)
I (island) + re (on) about idea(plan) = IRIDEAE
31 Capital to endlessly cut and smooth metal shavings … (6)
Lima (capital) + mill (cut and smooth) – ml (endlessly) = LIMAIL
32 … also with regard to a make of sword-blade (6)
And (also) + re (with regard to) + a = ANDREA
35 Locally outlaws riotous Christmas without fancy hats (5)
(Christmas – hats)* = CRIMS
36 Incident witnessed, we’re told (5)
Homonym of seen (witnessed) = SCENE
38 Poet’s lassie spinning angling tackle (5)
leger (angling tackle under ledger in Chambers) moving le to the end (spinning) = GERLE
40 Advance payment rejected for vessel (4)
Rev. ante (advance payment) = ETNA
43 Short garment turned up for prince (3)
Rev. Sari (garment) – I (short) = RAS
I share much of the same experience as the blogger, from whose moniker I have often wondered if he was from Newcastle. I’m writing this post from Gosforth.
It was indeed a smile inducing moment when I twigged on to the theme, the highlighting then becoming straightforward for a man of these parts. I’m afraid I had an asterisk next to 38D as I haven’t the foggiest either on the parsing. I didn’t have the eagle eyes of the blogger to spot the potential flaw with apparat.
My favourite of the bridges is the High Level which is a magnificent structure. It’s also a favourite walk to separate a pint in The Bridge Hotel on the Newcastle side and a pint in The Central on the Gateshead side. A recommended route for any visitors.
Many thanks to Gnomie for the Geordie themed puzzle and also for teaching me a lovely new word at 1 across.
And of course a big thanks to my fellow Novocastrian for the blog.
Thanks twencelas
I didn’t solve this puzzle but I’m always intrigued when there is difficulty parsing a clue. In 38dn, I think the ‘angling tackle’ is LEGER and, to avoid an indirect anagram, the ‘spinning’ indicates cycling the letters rather than it being an anagram indicator.
Chambers: ledger (also leger) ledger bait, ledger tackle or ledger line (angling)
Ah, thanks for clearing that one up Gaufrid.
Though I’ve known of Redheugh Park since Gateshead were in the Football League, it is only today that I learned how it is pronounced. But then, I was travelling through the area for about twenty years before I learnt Heworth was not pronounced the way I assumed it was – I learnt the correct version when station announcements were introduced on the Metro. BTW it’s Hugh urth.
Hope it’s not too off-topic, Gaufrid, and I used that Millennium Bridge for the first time last year when the annual Listener setters’ dinner was held in Gateshead
Thanks Gaufrid for explaining 38dn – have updated the blog. Phil R – I agree with you on the best bridge – its name is also perfect, though I can recall a time when a visit to the Central was not for the faint-hearted/ easily offended.
Yes, indeed, Raich. This crossword was inspired by crossing the Millenium Bridge from the venue of the Listener Dinner last year and a visit to the TURBINIA in the Newcastle Discovery Museum. Thanks too Gaufrid. Spinning that LEGER fishing tackle was the explanation of the GERLE clue. Sorry about the flawed APPARAT. Obviously, that PA would have to be ‘unattached’ for the clue to work correctly. I saw that when the proof reached me but the puzzle was already due for publication shortly and we let it slip through – and of course, thanks to twencelas – so good that it fell to a Newcastle man to blog this one.