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@Roof, I confess to needing every clue in this forum plus a liberal use of Google before I eventually completed this morning. Last night, I gave up after only getting 26a. Now I don't regret finishing it because, for a relative newcomer to cryptic crosswords, I found it extremely educational. There were plenty of indicators that I kicked myself for missing, which more experienced solvers would have spotted in an instant. For example, 21a is easy once you realize that 'clothing' means that the word for school surrounds the word for always. I won't give other examples for fear of further embarrassment, but I hope I will now know them when I see them again.

Hi Roof 12a is three letter Dickens chap inside two letters for “What ?” Followed by 3 letter for every…def is realisation …I hope that’s correct its the first time Ive posted a possible solution !!!

tony, that's correct on 12, congratulations on first solution posting. It'd be oddly appropriate if you had a PDM on that one! :-)

Nice one Tony, that looks spot on:-)

I imagine Picaroon would have liked to somehow fit "what the Dickens" into the clue but it just doesn't work - shame.

Finding this Picaroon hard work, about 55% done, so I will return after an interval and another perusal of the forum to see if I can make any further progress.

Re tonystock @52, that’s always the first Dickens character that comes to my mind in crosswords. Short so it fits in nicely.

Geeker @53 - Just got it, nice one 😂

Thanks Tony

I got 8d, which I think is right, which meant my answer to 10ac was wrong. I now have another answer to 10ac, which I can't parse. Are my crossers correct R?P?N?R?E?
I also have an uncertain answer to 6d for which I have F?R?T?E?R. Again I can fully parse it and I can't see how to get my Dickens chap into 12ac with this answer.

What is the definition for 5d?

I have many more queries, but let's start with those.

Writing my previous post seems to have reset the grey matter, finished! LOI 14.

Hi Roof,

I initially got 10a wrong and it really threw me out -

Your N and second R are wrong.

6d - R, T and E are wrong. You want a 5, 3 description of "Ferrari say" + single letter "beginning to drive" - definition is "Learner's aid"

5d - definition is a term for a beginner/"starter" at sports - more often heard in America but you'd know it.

12a - look at Geeker's @53