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Thanks Kite.

Tough esp some GK elements I was totally unfamiliar with.

Lots to like as well.

Likes:
1d, 4d, 7d, 19d
17a, 25a, 26a

COD: 25a

I will add 22a to my list, and also as COD contender.

Thanks to Kite, that was quite fun.

I think "Adams" in 24d was a bit unfair as there are about a zillion possibilites, but I got it so... 🤷‍♂️

Of course I could say the same about 6d, but I'll let that one slide as the answer did make me laugh.

COD: This might be a first but I'm going to choose the aforementioned Spoonerism at 6d.

Also, I had no idea that part of 20a backwards can mean "carriage" but I checked in Chambers, and that meaning is indeed there.

I wonder if 13a and 23d is deliberate?

I like 6 as COD.

Thanks to Kite. A lot of "gimme" short solutions (which rendered the whole grid on the gentle side), but a number of clever constructs to provide challenge.

FOI 9, LOI 19.

LOI actually the tricky 5. I corrected a mistake.

Hi Geeker,

If you were in Britain during the visit by Mikhail Gorbachev, you couldn't switch on the TV, radio, or open a newspaper without coming across this word and another one. In fact, under the definition, Chambers actually references Mr Gorbachev as the author of instigator of it.

That was in reference to your LOI

Thanks, Brendan. I've seen the word many times, but I thought its meaning was somewhat different from the clue definition.

BTW, Google reveals that the longer Gorby word has occasionally been used in daily cryptics, both as a solution and an anagrind (the latter is somewhat surprising to me).

That's very interesting, Geeker, regarding the second of the two words being used as an anagram indicator. Like you I was surprised and puzzled so looked it up in Chambers only to find that it means "reconstruction" and "restructuring" so, actually, a perfect anagrind - one to add to the list 😄