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11a...it was a new one to me but here it is:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/866.shtml

26a...I definitely prefer the double but it seems the single is valid:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossword_abbreviations#Clues_beginning_with_H

@ aristo...it seems we have something in common! I took up said instrument last year having played a more common instrument with similar requirements for years. I'm still having trouble mastering the extra 'buttons' though! In return for standing in locally every so often I have been given access to one to practise on whenever I like...nice :)

Glad you enjoyed the puzzle. I've got lots of music practice to do over the next few weeks but I'll get round to compiling another crossword soon!

I've sort of finished with similar uncertainty.
11a) I have 4 letters in it and have a word but don't know if I'm Hawking up the wrong tree!
Agree that 23a) was beautiful wordplay, enjoyed your use of FOIL in 4down.
20a) King really had me for quite some time but then had a penny drop moment from Complex.
17d) haven't put in an answer yet but have something - first 3 letters of answer match "digital" and have 2 out of 3 other letters which only makes 1 word which i didn't know meant Devil. And Dance???
22D) as I remember you use same Crossword software as me, I had to go on that to check, and it was there, but isn't in Chambers or Cassell dict'
1D) Don't really understand the wordplay.
12D) Very impressive, one of the hardest clues to set, don't know if you realised this was an "&lit" clue, you could have placed a question mark after it.
3d) new one to me, and the rest very enjoyable.
Looking forward to you being on board with the "Joint Effort"

Just looked at your web link for 11a) and my word is right, but would never have got that I don't think. I've learnt something new. Brilliant

Hey Les, thanks for giving it a go!

11a...lol, new one to me too!
17d...'devil' could be a bit extreme. I wanted to use 'rascal' but I'd already used it in another clue. It's meant as in 'you little.....!'.
hmmm... on second thoughts, 'dance' should perhaps be 'dance tune'. I think I might have let the alliteration get the better of me with that one ;)
22d...yes, Crossword Compiler...a great piece of kit! I'm guessing it's an olde worlde type word but I like it!
1d...I mulled over whether that clue worked for some time. It's a bit of a mixture of an &lit, a first letter indicator (rescue foremost) and a container (section of ocean liner) to arrive at who 'they' are. I think it works ;)
12d...thankyou! Ironically the clue came to me when I was using 'the answer'! Is putting a question mark at the end of an &lit clue the form?
3d...as I've recently started inhabiting them, it was the first solution to go in ;)

Also, I'm inclined to agree with greedy kite over my use of the first clue word in 26a. What do you think?

Thanks for the feedback, glad you enjoyed it!

P.S. Didn't mean to be too hard on you, Lionheart: it was just that they stumped me! Still a lot of fun anyway, so thank you again!

Lionheart,

Yes, 26A) did have me scratching my head a bit, I just thought that maybe it could be used in the singular, and on looking at your link afterwards, that was certainly the case, I didn't know that before doing the crossword though.
Off to work now, but back on tonight to post your words out for the joint effort
Talk later, have a nice day. Les40

Apart from the dodgy first letter of 26a, and the wordplay of 6d, the ones that caused me most difficulty were 6a (which I never got: it was very obscure and I was reading too much into the typo in the clue, perhaps), and 11a - very specialised. I enjoyed it.

Hey greedy kite, no problem! Flying potatoes can do that to a person ;)

Torquemada...11a has proved to be a tough one. I was expecting 9a to cause the most problems but then I'd not heard of it before. Is there a typo in 6a?

I think the general consensus is that the abbreviation in 26a is a stinker! The double letter is fine but not the singular....I agree!

Thanks for the feedback folks, glad you enjoyed it :)

Sorry. The typo (and my difficulty) was in 9a - "inprisoned" for "imprisoned". 6a was fine. There was a typo in my post about the typo!