The comedian Graeme Garden celebrated and a look at misdirecting geographic capitals

Sometimes our puzzles have themes; sometimes they don’t. A solver might notice some of the themes while others may pass them by: it doesn’t usually matter, but there’s an extra gratification when we get feedback such as this letter :

Thanks to Soup for the splendid birthday compliment to Graeme Garden ( Cryptic crossword, 18 February ). It brought back joyous memories of The Goodies, and reminded me of how many years I’ve been hooting with laughter at I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue . Many happy returns, Graeme – and all power to your setting, Soup.
Julie Mottershead
Deal, Kent

4d Tense aquatic bird crushed by snake somewhere in South Africa (8)
[ wordplay : T (‘tense’) + SWAN (‘aquatic bird’), both inside BOA (‘snake’)
[ definition : somewhere in South Africa ]

The comedian Graeme Garden celebrated and a look at misdirecting geographic capitals

Sometimes our puzzles have themes; sometimes they don’t. A solver might notice some of the themes while others may pass them by: it doesn’t usually matter, but there’s an extra gratification when we get feedback such as this letter :

Thanks to Soup for the splendid birthday compliment to Graeme Garden ( Cryptic crossword, 18 February ). It brought back joyous memories of The Goodies, and reminded me of how many years I’ve been hooting with laughter at I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue . Many happy returns, Graeme – and all power to your setting, Soup.
Julie Mottershead
Deal, Kent

4d Tense aquatic bird crushed by snake somewhere in South Africa (8)
[ wordplay : T (‘tense’) + SWAN (‘aquatic bird’), both inside BOA (‘snake’)
[ definition : somewhere in South Africa ]

The comedian Graeme Garden celebrated and a look at misdirecting geographic capitals

Sometimes our puzzles have themes; sometimes they don’t. A solver might notice some of the themes while others may pass them by: it doesn’t usually matter, but there’s an extra gratification when we get feedback such as this letter :

Thanks to Soup for the splendid birthday compliment to Graeme Garden ( Cryptic crossword, 18 February ). It brought back joyous memories of The Goodies, and reminded me of how many years I’ve been hooting with laughter at I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue . Many happy returns, Graeme – and all power to your setting, Soup.
Julie Mottershead
Deal, Kent

4d Tense aquatic bird crushed by snake somewhere in South Africa (8)
[ wordplay : T (‘tense’) + SWAN (‘aquatic bird’), both inside BOA (‘snake’)
[ definition : somewhere in South Africa ]