1-across – Fail to impress and leave university; have a taste for beer at the present time – wholly in the present : GODOWNLIKEA

9-across – 54, the golden number for port : LIVORNO

10-across – Dock – to prevent wagging? : CURTAIL

11-across – Goddess wholly belonging to labouring man : HERACLEAN

12-across – Defence secretary holds French soldier and doctor after union : HONEY

13-across – See 12 : MOON

14-across – A navigable waterway, the English Channel : MANCHESTER

16-across – Fish about to drink a river – caveat emptor! : PIGINAPOKE

19-across – See 14 : SHIP

21-across – See 14 : CANAL

22-across – I am Pooh, sadly, swallowing silver and eating raw meat : OMOPHAGIA

24-across – Trouble for the listener: each are at fault : EARACHE

25-across – Expose armour – it needs a sticker : AIRMAIL

26-across – See 1 : LEADBALLOON

1-down – Leave, before Spring’s surrounded the gold with green growth, for a job in the Commonwealth : GOVERNORGENERAL

2-down – Beetle in charge of architectural style : DORIC

3-down – Aboriginal stick for testing long-range weapons : WOOMERA

4-down – Spartan in the use of words : LACONIC

5-down – King has queen to boss, being usually on hand : KERCHIEF

6-down – One acquires a following, holding the note in spite of oneself : AGAINSTTHEGRAIN

7-down – Familiar incompetent 8 near 14 : OLDHAM

8-down – Formerly at cricket, a professional musician? : PLAYER

15-down – A small boy’s acknowledgment of literary fragments : ANALECTA

16-down – Wrinkle sounds genuine : PUCKER

17-down – Saw expert cleric coming up second : PROVERB

18-down – Expert on everything orders walk on left : KNOWALL

20-down – Gates? Devastating 8 : PEARLY

23-down – Brother saying nothing to upset the chat show queen : HARPO

7-across – Explorer returns to business and leaves from the Americas : TOBACCO

8-across – One perseveres with hearts, when spades 9 : STICKER

10-across – Sharp boy asleep? : BLADED

11-across – See 23 : LONDONER

12-across – Car going south from Leeds to Belfast? : MINI

13-across – Frog-hopper secretion in bird’s nest : CUCKOOSPIT

14-across – Forsaken the Lord God? Then we finish! : THEENDOFTHE

19-across – See 23 : BECAUSEIMA

22-across – See 14 : NIGH

23-across – Cor blimey mate, noise and abuse is terrible, but I love it so in song! : MAYBEITS

24-across – Unwilling to wear church dress : CLOTHE

25-across – Unfamiliar fake gold deposited : FOREIGN

26-across – Accepted a commanding position : GENERAL

1-down – See 14 : WORLDIS

2-down – Golf course offering a couple of slices? : SANDWICH

3-down – Bitter when the bill requires driving licence, for example, and one gets caught : ACIDIC

4-down – Rugby player’s interpretation of soft and loud : STANDOFF

5-down – Game without ends is over : ACROSS

6-down – Religious rebel, Eric the Unorthodox : HERETIC

9-down – Given the title and script failed, I abandoned cast : PLACEDFIRST

15-down – Nautical terms negotiated in stages : EASTINGS

16-down – Morning sickness is good in Victoria’s house : HANGOVER

17-down – Figure to spell misery without a ‘y’ : HEXAGON

18-down – Might one’s brains be scrambled? : EGGHEAD

20-down – Pedestrian author’s better without introduction : AMBLER

21-down – Robin Hood was one who won’t get Dick Whittington’s job : ARCHER

1-across – Rugby forward to be holding castle : BROOKE

4-across – Henpecked bishop protruding, that is : PROUDIE

9-across – Laodicean version of the North country : CALEDONIA

10-across – Salt source holding Derby : EPSOM

11-across – Where Croesus had all that bread – daily? : LYDIA

12-across – Unfinished or sent back with expression of disgust when upset : ROUGHHEWN

13-across – Predatory tool : CATSPAW

15-across – Alfred and Frank : DOBSON

17-across – Change barbarian country in the back row : LANDOR

19-across – Don’t talk to a girl with a weapon : CUTLASS

22-across – Letter to painter in Hemp-stead, not to be preserved : EPHEMERAL

24-across – Home Counties friend in bloom : SEPAL

26-across – Girl finding French gentleman an early victim : MABEL

27-across – Feudal superior, say, the back part being in cover : LIEGELORD

28-across – Pigs might fly? Barber seems : SWEENEY

29-across – First page embraced by Fanny : LARKIN

1-down – Pastoral, but reduced by severe pain : BUCOLIC

2-down – Mellow and unlikely to squeak : OILED

3-down – Child slept and was taken for a book : KIDNAPPED

4-down – Rise of record fever – died when harassed : PLAGUED

5-down – Magic award – I’m satisfied : OBEAH

6-down – Dead men, so wrongly, got smothered : DESDEMONA

7-down – East German money under wraps, feature then of Berlin : EDMUND

8-down – Year in Paris was attractive proposition : ANDREW

14-down – Docile message about hot drink taking precedence : TEACHABLE

16-down – She was at her ablutions, half naked, and David saw her : BATHSHEBA

18-down – Supporters’ meeting at Twickenham or in the country? : RURALLY

19-down – Spooner’s foolish friend : COLLEY

20-down – Food not cooked at home baffled the Crusaders : SALADIN

21-down – Water and pulp for East African soldier : SEAMUS

23-down – Time London supplied fruit : MELON

25-down – Put down some wine : PLONK

1-across – See special instructions : WILLOW

4-across – See special instructions : QUORUM

9-across – See special instructions : ARCHIEPISCOPATE

10-across – See special instructions : GLORIA

11-across – See special instructions : SQUARELY

12-across – See special instructions : CRATERED

14-across – See special instructions : HUSSAR

15-across – See special instructions : DVORAK

18-across – See special instructions : PUZZLING

21-across – See special instructions : FLAUNTER

22-across – See special instructions : IRENIC

24-across – See special instructions : XERORADIOGRAPHY

25-across – See special instructions : YESMAN

26-across – See special instructions : JITTER

1-down – See special instructions : WARBLER

2-down – See special instructions : LEHAR

3-down – See special instructions : OPENAIR

5-down – See special instructions : UNCOUTH

6-down – See special instructions : REPERUSAL

7-down – See special instructions : MATILDA

8-down – See special instructions : BIASED

13-down – See special instructions : TORTUROUS

16-down – See special instructions : VELVETY

17-down – See special instructions : KITHARA

18-down – See special instructions : PYRGIC

19-down – See special instructions : ZWINGLI

20-down – See special instructions : NEITHER

23-down – See special instructions : EXACT

1-across – It holds personalities with first half-second : VESSEL

4-across – Makes beast dirty as 1 across : MUDSCOW

9-across – Crop reared in sample 1 across : TWOMASTER

10-across – Bump into 1 across : BARGE

11-across – Ocean-going 1 across? : CANOE

12-across – The whole snake-pit contains 1 across : PILOTBOAT

13-across – In France she’s able to overturn obsolete little 1 across : NACELLE

15-across – Check design of 1 across : TARTAN

17-across – Strap on sole 1 across : SANDAL

19-across – Breach in sea capsized 1 across : DRIFTER

22-across – Day with idiot around at 1 across : FRIGATOON

24-across – 1 across from the right bits of water : SLOOP

26-across – 1 across needing a blow : SMACK

27-across – Vehicle returning jolly 1 across : SUBMARINE

28-across – Soundly strain with many sheets in 1 across : TRIREME

29-across – 1 across backed seat : SETTEE

1-down – Said to be the top level in those leading religious authority : VATICAN

2-down – Cut point on outgrowth : SHORN

3-down – Hair-raising! The Spanish were ahead with a smooth finish : ENAMELLED

4-down – Fair to allow a swallow : MARTLET

5-down – Went underground to come up for the first time : DEBUT

6-down – Diver gives expression of surprise at short time to go on : CORMORANT

7-down – For one the war destroyed? : WREATH

8-down – Principal way to fasten : STAPLE

14-down – One who does 4 to air differences causes discord : CHARIVARI

16-down – Put back to control civil power? : REINSTATE

18-down – Free to include king bearing gander : LOOKSEE

19-down – Name outlining an oriental flower : DANUBE

20-down – Full of sound tuck again : REPLETE

21-down – Compensation is out of line : OFFSET

23-down – Joint has no right to give continual pain : ANKLE

25-down – Poet’s childhood is truly content : ODIST