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Foinaven. You’re correct that there is an extra word… for by think mathematical operator and that should help you pick the right one of the two Greek options

Simond9x - 9 across is a word that means both plum and plumb - the second word of the clue is extra. The plum is more commonly known as a 9-letter word which is a 5-letter common colour plus the answer.

Thanks, loge. Not got it yet but will ponder.

Thanks for that Merenz - I had chosen the right alternative, though as a mathematics teacher for 35 years I am not too keen on using 'by' in this context. What was worrying me was the situation in row 4, column 3, but now I see that this is mentioned.

I am now at the decoding stage which will , I hope, resolve the ambiguity. Thank goodness for Google, however, which both explains an oddity and provides me with the culprit's name. Where would we be without it?

Good morning. I have one row left to crack, 14/15a.
Can I have nudges please. 15 has been mentioned, tell is definition, meaning to count I think?
14 hasn’t so I must be slow on this one…interwar style?

15a - look at the second meaning in Chambers app

14 - think of the style of the 1920’s

Thanks cd. Got those. That wasn’t the extra word I expected in 15!

All done now. The endgame was lovely and full of surprises, although I had to rely on Google to discover the message and other contextual information.

I was less impressed with some of the clueing, and still don't understand the wordplay for the second down clue - I guess Australian is a reference to the last three letters, and maybe you have to view it in combination with the first down clue.

But that is niggling. I certainly thought that the final grid was a much more fitting reward for the work required than that Spice Girls cover.

I now, finally, have a full grid but before I move on to the endgame could someone please confirm that the ambiguity is in row 4 - otherwise I have done something wrong (again!)

That's what I had, Gitto. It's the only unchecked double cell, if I've got it right.