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Hello, Elle.
The wasps are only looking for sugar.
Leave them be and you'll be fine.....I hope!
I can't see how to parse 9a.
Beginning to wonder if it is a wayward clue?
Maybe "we" are obtuse!
12, I think archaelogy may involve dating old stuff.
I have heard of carbon dating for ancient things.
A "reasonable" clue.
I knew carding.
There were lots of mills in town here and carding was a technique used all the time.

Hi, Rusty!
I developed a fear of wasps when I was but a student.
The bride of one of our hospital porters was stung badly by wasps on their honeymoon, and she went into a vegetative state.
It was a frightening story, and she only made a partial recovery.
Logically, I am aware that only a very small percentage of people stung by wasps will go into anaphyalctic shock....and even fewer have a cerebral infarction as a result.
But it doesn't stop me fearing and avoiding wasps.......
I have completed the Concise Jumbo ...but decided my brain is not up to Dealing with the Jumbo Cryptic today!
Instead I shall take the dog out!
Back in a bit......

Hello, Elle!
Your wasps tale is a really cheery one for brightening up a Saturday afternoon!
Taking the dog for a walk sounds like a good idea.
No word on the "door" ?

Rusty, Elle, believe it or not, I can actually see how 9 A works...
Annotate = comment on.

What one needs to make a mate a man - ie how to change the word 'mate' to the word 'man'.... An Not Ate, read it as An, not Ate . So drop the 'ate' from Mate, replace it with An.
Hope this makes sense!

Aha, Malone, splendid!
Makes plain sense to me.
I was thinking it had to do with chess.
Been looking at for some time now!
Well done!

Thanks, Rusty. I could explain it perfectly to myself, but didn't know if I'd get the sense, meaning, workings over properly. (PS It might not be correct, of course - but it works anyway!).

Malone, your parsing and explanations were bang on.
I can fully understand now.
I just could not quite see it, earlier.
I hate criticising a setter (I think in the main they do a smashing job!) but was beginning to wonder if there was something not quite right with the clue.
I am glad you happened along!

Rusty, because the setters are on their own wavelengths and solvers are on their own wavelengths, there are bound to be times when a clue doesn't gel. This doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it, it's just that we can all see different things (or see nothing!). I sometimes feel that good clues are like good jokes - they're simply not as good if they have to be explained!

Hello, Malone!
I agree that we are all on different wavelengths.
Often if I am stuck on a clue, I leave it for a while, and when I come back to it, the answer jumps out at me.
Now, the clue has not changed, but the break has allowed me to view the clue slightly differently and it becomes solvable!
Mind you, that did not happen today!

Yes, that happens to me too, Rusty - getting a solution after a spell away. I often get slightly irritated with myself, thinking 'How could I could not see that? It's so blooming obvious now!' I think our brains must work away in the background too, churning over the stuff we've been dealing with - I occasionally get an answer at a totally random moment, when I'm doing something else altogether.