Found Philistine relatively straightforward on this occasion, some nice clues - my favourite is 15d - a long time since I last heard that phrase.
Only one is eluding me, 23d (Lust after firm check) - I have _o_e_. Any hints welcome.
That's a newspaper clue ? Hmm. It parses fine, but to me there's no logical construct, as how does one lust after a ' firm check ' ? I think the definition of a good cryptic clue is that it doesn't APPEAR to be one. Know what I mean ?