Clockwise round the grid from 7 run the names (8,5,3,3,8,3,8,7,7) of six members of a winning set, the other three members forming the unclued lights (including two of two words). Solvers must shade the two clued lights giving further relevant names.
Across
8 Seaweed aged sheep gobbled (5)
9 One’s advanced banking system backing Eastern art (7)
10 Love of French poetry (3)
11 Spiritual father a pub ruined (4)
13 Plant right in marshland (4)
15 Porcelain lid in the White House? (5)
16 One thousand and eight lumps of sugar? (5)
17 Beastly battle royal boa lost of late (8)
20 Girlfriend caught in flagrante finally colouring (3-3)
23 Show cleric centre of Suez (5)
26 Cross letter from Greece (3)
29 Fine wine’s different (3)
31 Crow’s home perhaps in regularly pruned tree by water (5)
34 Russian maestro and Georgia having to go arm in arm (6)
36 Part of plant deceases if maggoty (8)
38 River during fading twilight (5)
39 Composer is a bad conductor (5)
41 Drink’s sound measure (4)
42 Bloke has function (4)
43 Old master from my French art (3)
44 Valence restructured in Lesotho? (7)
45 Fabulist a model rebuffed (5)
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in