(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) Found this easy enough to start with, but got held up at the end by a couple of clues. Thanks to Otterden. Definitions are underlined in the clues. And oh! it’s a pangram, too.
Across
8 Change amount, it is put about (8)
MUTATION : Anagram of(… is put about) AMOUNT, IT.
9 SF writer acts like one with film that is withdrawn (6)
ASIMOV : AS(acts like) I(Roman numeral for “one”) plus(with) “movie”(a film) minus(… withdrawn) “i.e.”(abbrev. for “id est”, Latin for that is).
Answer: Isaac, American author of science fiction as well as non-fictional science books.
10 Quick move made to get cured meat (4)
JERK : Double defn: 2nd: To cure meat, producing jerky.
11 Begging that rage in tent be modified (10)
ENTREATING : Anagram of(… modified) RAGE IN TENT.
12 Saps providing supporting directions to such as the Missouri (6)
WUSSES : W,E,S(abbrev. for for the directions, west, east and south respectively) containing(providing supporting … to) U.S.S.(abbrev. for for United States Ship, an example of which;such as, was the Missouri, battleship from WW2).
14 Celebrity fringes at congress after the end of December can be a net attraction (8)
CYBERSEX : The 1st and last letters of(… fringes) “Celebrity ” plus(at) [ SEX(sexual congress) placed after(after) the last 3 letters of(the end of) “December ” ].
Defn: …, on the Internet, that is.
15 Enthusiasts confined in the bronze age a great deal (7)
ZEALOTS : Hidden in(confined in the) “bronze age ” + LOTS(a great deal).
17 Composer, otherwise disrespectable, gets rid of tattered carpets (7)
DELIBES : Anagram of(otherwise) [“disrespectable ” minus(gets rid of) anagram of(tattered) “carpets “].
Answer: Leo, famous for his ballets and operas.
20 Unconfined uneasiness resolved after a fashion (2,1,5)
IN A SENSE : Anagram of(… resolved) “uneasiness ” minus its 1st and last letters(Unconfined …) .
22 Non-illuminated bend up front leads to the opposite (6)
SUNLIT : “unlit”(non-illuminated) placed after(… up front) S(a double bend).
Defn: … of “non-illuminated”.
23 Lengthen publicity by circular letter on short London opening (10)
PROLONGATE : PR(abbrev. for “public relations”;publicity) plus(by) O(the circular letter of the alphabet) plus(on) LON(short for London, in the IATA code for all its airports in general) + GATE(an opening, in a fence, say).
24 Architectural feature providing detailed protection from the elements (4)
COVE : “cover”(protection from the elements, those weather forces) minus
its last letter(detailed …).
25 Scaffolder reported stiffness (6)
RIGOUR : Homophone of(… reported) “rigger”(workman who puts up building construction scaffolding).
26 Impracticality of one changing lead is beginning to manifest (8)
IDEALISM : I(Roman numeral for “one”) + anagram of(changing) LEAD IS + the 1st letter of(beginning to) “manifest “.
Down
1 Who’s piece of music in France creates very little commotion (8)
QUIETUDE : QUI(French for “who”) + ETUDE(a piece of classical music for a solo instrument, displaying artistic technique).
2 Loudly advertise second-class anti-flood construction (4)
BARK : B(signifying second-class, as opposed to A, first-class) + ARK(Noah’s construction to beat the Flood).
Defn: As done by the person in front of a show, fair, carnival booth, to attract passers-by.
3 Tanker‘s workers get tax threshold removed (6)
OILERS : “toilers”(workers) minus(get … removed) the 1st letter of(… threshold) “tax “.
Defn: Shouldn’t it be plural to be consistent with the answer?
4 Get free international support (7)
UNSTICK : U.N.(abbrev. for the United Nations International organisation) + STICK(a support, as in “walking stick”).
I was held up by this right to the end as I had it as UNSTRAP, which fits the wordplay better, I think, and which fits 2 of the 3 crossing letters, and shares the same first 4 letters as the given answer.
5 Loathsome herbal tea served up — not right! (8)
HATEABLE : Anagram of(… served up) “herbal tea” minus “r”(abbrev. for “right”).
6 Order for stone coffin someone from the West Midlands once executed (10)
CISTERCIAN : CIST(a stone-lined burial chamber) + “Mercian”(someone from the old kingdom of Mercia, which included the West Midlands of England) minus its 1st letter(executed;head cut off).
Defn: … of Christian monks and nuns.
7 Room to go forward rapidly without second in command (6)
LOUNGE : LUNGE(to move forward rapidly) containing(without;outside of) the 2nd letter of(second in) “command “.
13 Real loss of work at showroom (5,5)
SALES FLOOR : Anagram of(… work) REAL LOSS OF.
16 Estate residents a number one gets to irritate (8)
TENANTRY : TEN(a number in arithmetic) + AN(article indicating one of) plus(gets) TRY(to irritate;to test one’s patience).
Defn: … , collectively.
18 Former visit a total mix-up — one needed to leave? (4,4)
EXIT VISA : EX-(prefix indicating former;once) + anagram of(… total mix-up) VISIT A.
19 Jelly eating out requires plate (7)
GELATIN : Anagram of(… out) EATING containing(requires) L(plate displayed by learner drivers).
21 Managed to get back six grand to Norwegian port (6)
NARVIK : Reversal of(… to get back) RAN(managed, an organisation, say) + VI(Roman numeral for “six”) K(like “grand”, slang for 1000 dollars).
22 Needed pole to be replaced in a selected position (6)
SEEDED : “Needed” with “N”(abbrev. for “north” pole) replaced by(… to be replaced) “S”(abbrev. for “south” pole).
Defn: …, as in a tennis tournament, say).
24 Man’s junior partner (so-called) involved in technical fraud (4)
CALF : Hidden in(involved in) “technical fraud “.
Answer: … of Man, a smaller island just off the Isle of Man, which former could be called the latter’s junior partner. “calf” derives from the Old Norse word for a smaller island lying near a larger one.
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The following pictures have unidentified links to the puzzle.

(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)
Pic 5- is she wearing foundation, a series of books by ASIMOV?
.
Pic 2- LOUNGE?
Hi Shirl, I thought scchua might have said Pic 2 is not 7d! Actually, do you think it might in fact be a bedroom, and what on earth is that thing that looks like an ironing board hanging beside the mirror?
Pic 1, seem to remember there were NARVIK sleeping bags…
Pic 4, the CISTERCIAN monks make/made wines etc.
Pic 3, clouds can be SEEDED, e.g. by releasing fine particles into the air.
Hi Cookie @3
It is an ironing board and there is an iron on the wall next to it. It looks like a hotel bedroom to me.
Pic 6:- is this from a British Airways ad? They used the flower duet from Lakme by DELIBES
I think the ironing board is actually a trouser press in #2
Hi Gaufrid @7 and Robi @9, surely not CALF for the ‘trouser press’ in Pic 2?
Near Corby (trouser press) is the site of a CISTERCIAN abbey
#4 GELATIN is a fining agent for wines
Hi Robi @9
My first thought was a trouser press but that didn’t account for the iron on the wall. Having enlarged the image, I would suggest that it is a combined trouser press and ironing board.
scchua; how are we doing?
Hi all,
That’s good:
Clouds can be SEEDED to induce rain
BA used The Flower Duet by DELIBES for their commercial; the picture is an adaptation of the commercial for Comic Relief
You’ve got the right object in the hotel room
And GELATIN is in there somewhere.
#5 GELATIN can be used as a lip filler
#1 RIGOUR in response to hypothermia
Robi@16, not quite, almost there,
and @17, yes “shivering” or “RIGOUR” is a response to hypothermia.
And Pic4: What’s not there?
Pic 4, no red?
Robi @17, perhaps GELATIN – lip gloss?
Can you use GELATIN in ironing?
Also, the Iron Lady was a bit of a ZEALOT and didn’t like wets, or perhaps WUSSES
Cookie, it’s more than gloss with those lips.
Shirl, it’s not “iron” per se but a synonym.
Pic 2, “iron RIGOUR”, the two words are often put together…
also, there are ironBARK trees…
GELATIN is found in various cosmetics
Red wine won’t LENGTHEN your life??
Is the trouser press a Corby related link??
Does a trouser press PROLONGATE the life of your trousers? 🙂
Pic 2:- iron bars used in weightlifting for the JERK?
Pic 5:- collagen, a bit like GELATIN, is used for lip enhancement
Pic 4:- this make of wine is reduced alcohol, so might be for WUSSES?
Robi@29 and Shirl@30, together, you’re almost there.
Shirl@31, yes, collagen is used to plump up lips, and GELATIN is made from animal collagen.
Pic 4:- different grape varieties caused by MUTATION?
Pic2: The “clean and press” and the “clean and JERK” are lifts in competitive weightlifting, though the former is no longer in the Olympics
Pif4: Those wine bottles use screw-tops, replacing corks, made from the BARK of the cork oak.
Thanks scchua
Thanks scchua for the fun
Out of interest, scchua, the oak trees’ bark where I live in France (near Geneva) is/was used for the extraction of tannin, the oaks look very weird.