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Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later - my first Guardian DNF!

This week's puzzle is by that favourite among Forum users, Paul.

I actually started off reasonably well with 18a my FOI followed by a few more in quick succession. But then I came to lower half of the grid and pretty much ground to a halt.

The annoying is that I got the first part of 8d and also the long clue at 20,26a but the trouble I have is with 25a and 15d and 19d - nothing seems to fit.

Naturally I've looked back over to see I've put in a wrong answer somewhere and maybe that's what is throwing me off, but I don't think I have.

25a I've put my crossing letters in to a word search app and it gives just one possible answer, which sort of matches the clue but has nothing to do with Florida!!

Oh well, I'll carry on for a while longer and hope a much needed PDM.

COD Obviously I have fewer to choose from this week but I'm going for 6d - it's how I'm feeling just about now:-)

It was great to get so many differing views on last week's puzzle, whereas I some others really liked it, Chris and Griddled were not to keen and that's fine - the last thing we want is for this thread to become that bane of the internet, an echo chamber.

Stay safe:-)

Hey Brendan, I’m just starting, probably shouldn’t have read your summation first, but I’ll let you know how I get on!

....and of course, within a minute of posting I suddenly get them - why does that always happen!!

Hi Jono,

I'll be interested to hear how you get on.

...although I still don't see how the wordplay leads to the second word in 8d even though I'm confident my answer is the "American concerned with issue".

Got it! I was trying to make "mark" out the last 5 letters but I'd overlooked the 's at the end of "nation's" - rookie error 😡

As always, thanks to Paul for a tough but enjoyable challenge:-)

Hi Brendan,
As previously mentioned, I'm often strangely on Paul's wavelength, but this fortuitously was near record short solving time.
I luckily saw some of the tough clues (a dd, the "Pauline" and a few geographical ones) right away. Thanks to Paul anyway , many fun clues. The simple 12, 18 and 24 are co-COD, but 1, 10, 11, and 19 also good. And there's a big Pauline trademark!

Hi Geeker,

I'm not familiar enough with Paul to be able to recognise a "Pauline" type clue so I'll be interested to hear which one it is - I could guess at a couple but I wouldn't be sure:-)

Brendan, I can't specify it now lest there be a spoiler. Not as naughty as many "Pauline" entries, but still smile-inducing.
16 was my LOI, that and 3 also fun...I like the simple entries this week!

Hi Geeker,

I think I know which one it is - does it remind one of a scene from "Life of Brian"?

Isn't it weird how it was one of your quickest solves and one of my longest - like you say, it's about being on the setter's wavelength:-)

Brendan,

Yes, you got it!
Over the years, I've fared far better with Paul than with any other setter. Can't say why, apart from a certain taste for off-colour clues, which couldn't explain that much.
The big difference in solving times, though surprising, may happen more often than you think...I post much later in the thread (if at all) on the Prizes that really stump me!