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Hello, Elle!
That's a pity!
Best throw it away, maybe?
I may have mentioned before but the editor likes to have Wednesday's puzzle the hardest of the week.
No idea why!
I have one I have no idea about.
Could be an Aussie word, but I've left it.
There will be another puzzle along tomorrow!

Good afternoon, Rusty!
It rather sounds as though the one you cannot do, is one of those three that are stumping me?
Is it 22a where it mentions "Australian" in the clue?
I have S?I?E?
I thought the answer might be "sliver" as that is a narrow piece split off from a larger block....
But that doesn't seem to have anything to do with "youngster" or to be something said by an Australian?
Do you think accent/ pronunciation comes into this?
The other two I can't do are 5a and 12a ...
Now "metadata" and "Ramen " were new words to me......I had to look them up in the dictionary to check their meanings ...
But they at least were gettable from the parsings...... I liked those!
But overall, I admit to losing heart over this puzzle!

Hello, Elle!
Been raining here!
Yes, 22 is the one stumping me.
I'll find out tomorrow what it should be!
5a, Worthless could be "gimcrack".
Plane makers, I think, is "Mig", reverse it, and "crack" could be matal fatigue.
12a is "Listeria", threat to health.
List could be a "minute", "i" for one in "era".
I had never heard of 27, "Noyade", but Anne Bradford had!
Or "ramen", "coddling", or "metadata".
This setter had us working today!

Hi, Rusty!
I would never have got either "gimcrack" or "listeria" from the clues.......thank you so much for your help!
I knew "noyade"....noyer is the French word for to drown.
And you coddle eggs! An egg poached in water is "coddled"!
Although I do my poached eggs in the microwave!
Yes, the puzzle was hard work today!
My elder daughter has phoned to confirm that they are coming to stay a fortnight on Saturday!
We are looking forward to it!
I think we are following you with the rain tomorrow!

Good evening, Elle!
I have never heard of "coddling", in all my puff!
I am impressed you knew "noyade", too.
A good puzzle, I thought!
You will be pleased your daughter and family are coming to stay!
I was watching a bit of the golf practising at Portrush.
Windy and raining there!
I like the weather blowing for a proper Open tournament!
It's live on Sky from 6.30 tomorrow.
I am looking forward to it!

Hi, Rusty!
You haven't mentioned Le Tour today?
Were you not watching?
You will be busy tomorrow, if both cycling and golf are on.......
I see that there are Athletics - the London Anniversary Games - on both Saturday and Sunday (showing on BBC1) so I shall look forward to that.
We were hoping to go to Polhill Garden Centre tomorrow, but the forecast is for rain......
We shall play it by ear, and decide tomorrow.

Hello, Elle!
I saw bits of the Tour, but it was a fairly uneventful, flat stage.
No crosswinds today.
Niki Terpstra crashed out with a broken shoulder blade.
Caleb Ewan won the sprint.
Tomorrow, though,.....the Pyrenees!!!!
First of the tough mountain stages.
I have to go out for a while but the golf is live for twelve hours or so!
Would rain keep you away from the garden centre?

Hi, Rusty!
You will be looking forward to the Pyrenees stage of the TdF!
Both for the cycling itself and the fantastic scenery.......
Maybe you can find me a bear or two?
Now.......Polhill Garden Centre is a massive place...not only selling garden plants and equipment etc., but also with quite a range of shops....
But we are going mainly for plants......and whereas a lot of these are under partial cover .....a lot are completely outside .
Yes, we could still go in the rain.......but it is a lovely place to be on a nice sunny day.....and much more enjoyable!
So we may as well pick a lovely day for our outing!

Hello, Elle!
Yes, I like the Tour in the high mountains.
And the scenery!
And maybe a bear or a wolf, too!
And a different kind of scenery at Portrush for the golf.
I have not heard of Polhill Garden Centre.
Sound good, though!

Hi, Rusty!
Yes, it is a popular haunt....and the plants are usually good value for money.
It is where we usually go for our garden plants/shrubs/ trees etc.
There is also an excellent farm shop.
(And the cafe does an excellent bacon roll!)
Here is a link:
https://www.polhill.co.uk/departments/
The Garden Centre is in Badgers Mount, near Sevenoaks, in Kent.