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Thanks Winstonian. That's what I thought but could not believe it would be duplicated so much....but now I am seeing it is a little cleverer than that 8-). Distracted by the snooker but looking forward to the rest tomorrow, when I am hoping to discover new openings.

Ha! Ha! I thought I was going so well with this especially in NW corner . Everyword was fitting in so nicely except I can't get the answer to 4th clue down which appears to have 'KING' as the end. Is this right or have I gone astray somewhere. Help please !

Uncle W, 4D is Orchis, it is one of the entries to be entered normally, since 'Dad' is removed from the clue. Oddly enough, one of the thematic groups of letters is 'King'. This features at the end of 16A (first across entry in the 3rd row) and at the start of 17D.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to come to the same dilemma, as I too thought that the thematic object went 'all the way' as it were. Seems some do and some don't and this is one of the former. Excellent construction though I must say.

Thanks meursault for your help. My mistake was to put the 2nd across immediately after 1A .

Meursault, I think there's something wrong with your numbering. A straightforward error, but it might confuse others.

You're quite right, Dryden. There are 2 down entries starting from the 2nd row, neither of which share a number with the across entries. So the first across entry in the 3rd row is 17A, the down entry is 18D.

For the digits going into the central cells, I've simply added one to the series given by the thematic groups. Which represents 3 days after the solstice - close enough to warrant a celebration I suppose...

I am done I think, but would appreciate an explanation of why 'dead cimex' equates to a b in the last across clue. Really enjoyed this one, but I take your 5 hours and double it!

It's slow progress for me again. If I could get the first down clue it would be quite a boost:

Clean-timbered, I initially may be cut rough (10). Thanks.

Rrrobo - Take a look at Chambers definition for B. Near the end you'll find B "A 19c euphemism for a domestic bedbug". Hope this helps!