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Lumen, 33d is thematic. The wordplay gives one letter, surrounded by denial, further surrounded by pair of brothers.

I completed this without too much trouble - 7a and 48a got me onto the theme. However, I did it without ever working out what the McGuffin was with the thematic clues. Either I've missed something or that's a bit of a weakness in a cryptic.

hi Granama1, sounds like you breezed through this without needing the 'extra help' that may have been provided by title & two specific words in preamble ... perhaps thats the 'McGuffin' you're looking for?

Hi CB, I don't really know. I filled it in and thought 'Oh'.

I see the 2 key words but haven't worked out the significance of the title. Once 7a and 48a looked obvious, 4d fell into place and the extra letters became clear and confirmed things.

So I ended up with a full grid and then trying to work out what I'd missed or whether I'd got it all wrong. It probably helped that I used to be a fan...30 years ago. 🙂

Thanks quisling at 11.
I had miscounted my theme words.

I'm really struggling on this one. Could anyone give me a nudge on the thematic clues? I have a couple filled in from cross overs with non-thematic answers, but I am still completely lost.

A very famous example is the answer to 28d (6 letters) followed by the entry for that number (7 letters). A search for the two together will give you the theme.
If you haven't solved the clue, 'patchwork' is more obviously a cold meal or side-dish (if you don't have the entry, it begins with 'c').

Loved the title.

SoR. I did go back to this worked out what I'd missed in filling the grid and the title did make me smile. 🙂

Came late to this one. (Well, there was the small matter of my daughter’s wedding which rather took priority!) when the PDM came, I think the clang might well have been heard south of the border. Thank you, Cranberry. “Hard but fair”, as the Pythons said!