On this page we urge you to seek the child within. In true Supermarket style we thought about inviting you to 'Have a Ride on Fireman Sam'. There were however problems with Health & Safety - something about having to ensure a man with a mop is in attendance at all times in case of accidental spillage. Nevertheless we invite you to abandon your soigné, urban sophistication and climb into the playpen. It remains a largely uncelebrated fact that The Widow, an obsessive creature (and that's putting it politely), is a cruciverbalist. As such his adventures include setting puzzles under the astonishingly inventive soubriquet of THEW! He compiles a regular teaser for 'The Tax Inspector's Quarterly' an example of which is given below. This will save you having to buy a copy of the magazine which is understandably quite hard to come by. Apart from the title of the puzzle - 29a 15d - the remaining unclued answers are all thematically linked. Two of these answers should be thought of as a pair. Across 1 Three-dimensional measurement slightly less than your forearm by 1/3 of an inch. (5) 4 Duvet slid off in whirlwind. (4,5) 9 Talk about a royal stamp. (6) 10 Men sin, roaring drunk. (8) 11 ? (4) 12 In here? A bar of soap? Whole? Now? Not unless I've been swearing! (4-4) 13 ? (3) 14 This person would put up with everything by the sound of it. (6) 17 Worn in the gun turret? (4,3) 21 Wireless rage? He's sounding a bit of a joke. (6) 25 Sign of single occupancy. (3) 26 Worked out in the health centre as one did in the old days. (8) 27 ? (4) 28 What a disappointment! Not about - even around the beginning of November. (8) 29 See title. (6) 30 If the spotted ophidians are bi-lingual and the helminths myopic then expect these to be thorny! (9) 31 ? (5) Down 1 ? (8) 2 Two pop groups simply not confused. (7) 3 Coasters are most refined...yes and no! (8) 5 Main road? (6) 6 ? (6) 7 5 is half-eaten dish and rather sticky too. (7) 8 ? (6) 12 Made a foul noise? (7) 15 See title (3) 16 ? (3) 18 Moulding the music by reshaping note a bit differently. (8) 19 We're not very good fliers so we flap about as we flop around. (8) 20 ? (7) 22 Chained up animal. (7) 23 ? (6) 24 ? (6) 25 Shed only half leaves and not untidily. (4-2) ANSWERS available from email LINK Many, varied and delightful are the things we are often asked to do. Here for example are the recipes we put forward for inclusion in Hilary and Roy King's wonderful 'Red Pear Theatre Company Celebrity Cookbook': Widow's Spiced Plums My 'Spiced Plums' are a legend in North Hertfordshire - one of the most talked about mouthfuls in the county. The idea is to give your regular plums a bit of a lift - traditonal stewed fruit with an alarming, almost unnatural frisson. Now if you want to get all Mrs Beeton about it that's up to you - dress up in a starched pinnie in your own time thank you - but trust me, a gentle stewing is so straightforward you won't need a bible and it's even easier in the microwave! Ambrosial ingredients include some or all of the following: PLUMS SUGAR GINGER CARDOMUM RED CHILLI DAIRY PRODUCT COUNTERPOINT The choice of plums is a very personal matter but for a party occasion you could offer a kaleidoscopic composition of red, gold and purple varieties. Choose slightly immature fruit - it will retain a desirable tartness after the cooking process and will hold its shape better too. 'Twas ever thus. Prepare a light sugar syrup for the stewing but before bringing your flavoured plums to this coction infuse it with thinly sliced strips of freshest ginger, lightly bruised cardomum pods, and a tongue-tingling julienne of fiery red hot chilli. Stew the fruit with, please, the lightest, fairy-fingered touch. Overcooking will exhaust the fruit and make for a dismal, formless slop. The stewing can be nicely controlled in the microwave - short little bursts until the plums look tender and moist. Leave the dish to macerate for at least 24 hours. The flavours must exchange - only then does the dish truly come into its own. Serve (warm if you like) spattered with a vanilla custard (or girt great dollops of cream if preferred). The fiery strength of your dish should accomodate the niceties of your dining companions. Don't embarrass His Excellency's wife by making her nose stream in a publicly unacceptable way - these are not 'Plums Vindaloo' after all; and likewise don't disappoint Rough Trade by failing to startle its tough little buds with the anaemia of your overly mild-mannered dish. Happy plums. The W. Kit's Samphire As I write, the Samphire Season is nearly upon us. This astonishing delicacy can be gathered FREE! (but use scissors, don't uproot because you'll want some more next year), where fresh-water meets brackish sea-water, on sand or on estuaries. (Very flat Norfolk, and especially The Wash, are therefore ideal). Served hot with butter or with hollandaise sauce, it surpasses the ubiquitous asparagus and is pulsing with iron and other goodness. The trick, though, is to boil it in two sets of water, to remove the saltiness: one for two minutes and one for three. Even ghastly vegetable-hating children adore it, perhaps because of the method of eating it (sucking it away from the root) is so contrary to table manners. Pickle the left-overs, but there won't be any, I guarantee! www.redpear.com Here's a bit of nonsense. This is some copy we prepared for a programme at London's very glamorous Wigmore Hall: We had been asked to provide the following information: - Favourite professional engagement - Favourite line of poetry - Favourite film - Favourite colour - Favourite meal - Most absurd professional engagement Kit Hesketh-Harvey Raising money at Claridges for the Jacqueline du Pre Memorial School "The curse is come upon me!" cried The Lady of Shallot." 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' Eau-de-nil A can of Condensed Milk, eaten off the spoon A convention of undertakers at the NEC Birmingham. Even before the 40 foot Christmas tree had toppled over, we had died. The Widow Countdown "I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground." 'Manon des Sources' Daisy black Fresh mackerel caught at Lyme Regis cooked en plein air as a boy scout The time the piano leg fell off mid-song during a charity fund-raiser to adorn the Jackson's Lane Community Centre with a new roof for their badminton court. After that they needed a new piano as well and I needed a new hip.