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Further my last - Should have read your post more fully ie gentle hints - Apologies if said too much...

Thanks crates. I'd seen the 34 solution but for some reason discarded it! I had 25, but have now seen what 26 must be, though no idea how the first 3 letters parse. Thanks again.

I didn't start this till Wednesday, and am finding it very difficult. Can anyone give me a nudge for:
7 D. Keg Charlie found in Spanish Harlem cafe, perhaps.
9 D. Buzz echo once spread inside pressure chamber. (Two words)
22 D. Dear boy see off Gower as an example.
28 D. Chief engineer at last closely probes blurred image on special CRT's.
12 A. Cocaine taken by Le Mans profligate no longer gets rid of anxiety.
31 A. check old surfing board suitable for hiring out.

I expect one or two are anagrams, but I've tried so many I've given up !
Many thanks for any help.

Hi Samovar,
7D : both the definition and the wordplay involve Spanish words, making this quite a difficult clue for anyone who doesn't speak Spanish, so I'll just give you the answer in this case. Barrico - C in Barrio. cafe is extra.
9D : echo is extra, buzz as in vernacular for ring up. anag once inside p for pressure and a 4 letter word for chamber.
22D : Dear = cher, boy = son, see anagrammed gives a synonym for peninsula. Gower Peninsula a beautiful place in S Wales.
28D : CE (for chief engineer), y (at last closely), within an anagram of image, and finally an s (special). Whole thing a kind of cathode ray tube, plural.
12A : anag of C and Le Mans. Old word for eases.
31A : surfing is extra. Let as in serve tipping the net in tennis, also old form a verb, board as in flat surface with 4 legs...

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Thank you so very much, Meursault. I would never have got Barrico, and even though I did a search for peninsulas, never found THE one!
Now, with luck I might stagger over the finishing line before the new one tomorrow.
Many thanks again.

pattie - having one of those days! you mentioned 26 and I waffled on about 25! Axis can mean stem so small axis gives def. Word play 4 letters to slow down + Arabic hill reversed (Alternative spelling)

Finally finished, absolutely excellent.

Had 4 clues after an hour and a half. Looked on answerbank, saw they were all raving about how good it was. Decided to persevere. A few key clues dropped, spotted the first clash, figured out the theme, then very enjoyable relatively plain sailing to the finish. Very good indeed in my view. Good mix of clues, all very fair, clever grid, symmetrical, nice theme.

Roll on the rest of 2018.