Clues by Imogen and Grid by Gin

Enter the prize draw by 30 September.

I seem to hear the strains of Henry Hall and his Orchestra:
Away with dull care, the day is set fair, a wireless set near to bring us good cheer!

The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph consisting of the outline of a clock-radio imposed on a very starry background (possibly with the Milky Way).

In Winter time or Summer time, or leisure time and pleasure time,

The daily times that Big Ben chimes are...

This puzzle uses a conventional 7x5x5 grid by Gin. Solutions are presented in alphabetical order of their solutions.

For Christmas time, the party time, or dinner time, or dancing time,

The daily times that Big Ben chimes are...

The four corner vertical solutions note something from a Day 13. This timeframe can be narrowed down with an anagram of the letters in the blue squares plus two each of the letters in the yellow squares (5,5). Solvers should use this information to submit the four words of the theme plus its date (MM/YYYY) along with their solution.

Olden days had different ways, their pleasures then were fewer;

Modern days will get my praise, our wireless ways are newer!

Imogen has taken Gin’s cunning construction and composed a charming puzzle evoking the emergence of technology in earlier times.

A sterling time, a whirling time, a record time, for Father Time,

The daily times that Big Ben chimes are...

Day 4

Old aeroplane shortly to arrive (4)

You’re looking for a de Havilland aeroplane that was the world’s first jet airliner. Jettison the final letter and you’ll arrive. [NI]

Day 7

What is Welsh for Wales? Wow — name put back after protest (7)

Don’t think about Cymru, concentrate on ‘What is Welsh’. You need to think of a word for wow and an abbreviation for name. These need to be put backwards after a short word for a protest to give you a word used to denote the natives of a place. [JP]

Day 8

Bores almost consent to visit mid-west (6)

Another word for consent (5 letters) cut short and put between e & s (the mid letters of west). Bore here is not a person but tidal water. [GS]

Day 11

Raw meat changing hands (5)

Change hands invariably involves the letters L (left) and R (right). Two possibilities. Swapped at the ends of a word e.g. lair to rail or, as in this case, substituted in one word e.g. flame to frame. Here ‘meat’ is what surrounds your bones (not to be eaten unless you are a cannibal). [GS]

Day 15

Spoken praise and floral tribute for organisation head (4,5)

Spoken suggests homophones, so we need a word that sounds like praise followed by a word for a floral tribute. The answer is the original head of the relevant organisation, but it is important to give his title rather than first name for the first homophone to work. [NI]

Day 16

Informative little speck not receiving a cursory approval (7)

Take the word not and put in (receiving) a and a short word meaning cursory approval to find your informative little speck. [JP]

Day 17

How this anniversary differs from the 300th, one remarks (5)

You need to start with a word for a 300th anniversary and take away the three letters that make it different to the anniversary of this puzzle so there is no ??? to give you a word for someone who remarks. [JP]

Day 23

Smart editor held tongue (7)

You’re not looking for an editor who knows when to keep silent. You need another word for smart with an abbreviation for editor inside (held) to give you a tongue. [JP]

Day 25

Create waves around hotel, one with class (7)

Around the proverbial H for hotel create suggests an anagram. But h +waves + a or i (representing one) produces nothing. Unusually here the anagram indicator is waves and for the solution ‘in class’ may be of more use than ‘with’. [GS]

Day 29

Respond angrily to sexual excitement (4,2)

This clue brings to mind a stupid joke from the 1960s involving two stoned hippies. First hippy asks second hippy to do something. In response second hippy turns to the kettle and says: Kettle, I love you! [GS]

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I am grateful to the other members of the Hints & Tips team: Garry Stripling (Gin) and Jim Pennington (Philostrate).

Happy solving!

Nick Inglis (etc)