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Hi Everyone
Started after late lunch as usual after tackling yet another difficult quick crossword. Oh good, Paul I said and I started very well, quickly getting 17ac, which led to 7d and a subject I'm quite keen on. Would you drink tea out of anything else?

I've done about two thirds but come to a grinding halt. I spotted the Day in 21d, but can't get the perfume even after googling what I thought might be the answer.

Thanks for the hint on 27ac. I haven't been able to solve 19ac or 26ac amongst others. For 19ac I have ?A???N?o? (small letters mean I'm not sure about them)
and for 26ac I have ?H?n???L??
Please can I have some hints.
So far FOI was 10ac closely followed by 17ac
Brendan I vaguely remember you asking about hints now it was a prize. I like your hints and never send it in. The prize is naff anyway.
Glad to see you back this week.

21d: Just put the Day inside the extremities of another word

19a/26a: Your crossers are all correct

19a is 3 letter "cheap" + type of 7 (missing an S at the end though) - it's a pun, answer is a game (sport)

26a: 5 letter 7 containing 5 letter "sense of fear" - a cute nocturnal animal, Magical Trevor did an amazing magic trick on one but forgot to put in his journal about the nocturnal part. I'm not expecting anyone to get this reference ;)

12a, 24a, 25d. Hints? I thought I had 25d but posts suggest otherwise. 40ish degrees here in southern Spain. So normal. Cheers.

Hi PDS
Many thanks
I went away and finished the crossword before coming back for answers, but was grateful for your parsing of 26ac as I couldn't see it.
Two new words for me: 15d and 21d. I can't find the latter in my Chambers dictionary or my shorter Oxford. I couldn't find it on Google either. Is it a brand name?
Although I got it early, I still can't explain the last letter of 12ac.
I don't think there is a missing S at the end of the theme word in 19ac
I don't like the parsing of 28ac.

My LOI was 22d, which I don't like.
CODs were 25d, 9d

I enjoyed this crossword; Paul at his best, I thought.

Too early for a glass of wine, so I'm just going to look at my dresser, which contains a nice collection of 23ac and other odds and ends of 7d

21D shows up for me if I google it? But the Day is needed to clarify the spelling ;)

Last letter of 12A is "grand" - for the Romans, anyway

I thought 28A was ok once I got the hospital dept.

22D was my COD, I liked the pork pie misdirection.

Minno -

12A: 4 letter "youngsters" containing "one" + 1 letter "grand"
24A: 4 letter slope plus a word directly from the clue
25D: Person's rear + an anagram, double definition. I did not know this word but got it from wordplay and looked it up.

Hi Minno,

12a - 4 letter "youngsters" around single letter "one" then "grand" - definition is "artistic movement"

24a - 4 letter "slope" + ON from the clue - definition is 7

25d - see @33

Sounds sweltering over in Spain, I hope you're coping okay. My friend is going out there next week and I'm looking after his dog:-)

Thanks to ParadigmShifter and Brendan. Still not there. Must be time to take a break. Best advice for hot weather came from an Aussie mate. Cover up and go slower. Also works for outgoing prime ministers.

Just got 12a. Same word had me stumped a few years back. Wood for trees.

I did have a second look, but when I needed a word search for 2 and 3, it confirmed that I was right in deciding not to bother.

The thing that I dislike about Paul's puzzles is that so often it seems that they were more fun to set than to solve. I think in future I won't even bother to start them.