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Hi Unclued, it's modern culture which I know little about. Somebody who thinks he's very funny has a part called Ali G, apparently from Staines or something. I only discovered by googling Ali G. I wish I hadn't, in a way. I'm forgetting so many useful things but now obliged to remember rubbish...misappropriation of brain cells...

Thanks Meursault. I would never have guessed that! All finished and I was amazed how few anagrams the setter used.
Happy New Year to you, and to all the other friends on this listener forum.

Can anyone tell me if my crossers for 40a are correct, please?

I have R?E??A?L?

40a Dirigible beginning to travel, always in dark (9)

R is wrong cloverjo (it's S).

Thanks, drxx.
I thought 35d was TARE, but obv not.

And best wishes for 2019 to you, Unclued, and to all on the forum.

Cloverjo, 35dn is GASH.

Thanks, unclued

As I’m still away from home I started this rather late. Thanks to all for the useful hints here regarding the endgame. I wouldn’t have finished without them as I had wandered up a blind alley. It does help to read the preamble carefully. Happy New Year to all.

I may be overcomplicating things but the first sentence of preamble is a little vague. Does it matter which version of the grid is submitted? We clearly need to know both versions to perform the final task.
Also “must be represented” sounds to me like an instruction for the solver. I have scanned the grid looking for a word describing the transformation but have not found anything.
Perhaps it simply means the original grid must be transformed to the alternative grid before submission - which is what I intend to do.