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Thank you JA. Without that I would never have achieved anything. Couldn't get beyond the ecclesiastical screen. With luck it'll stop raining in Brum soon.

Almost all finished - a fun crossword. 2 questions though

1. Could someone help with 7 down please?

2. Finished the instruction but wondering if correct the result should look like something from our hero's system (mine doesn't)??

Gitto - re your #16 and #21 -
I think you're being inconsistent here, complaining about the use of characters, other than straight English Latin alphabetic characters, "...that cannot be resolved within the [Listener] crossword itself" Surely we've had examples using scatterings of Greek, Cyrillic, and Hebrew characters in the past - even non-letters - none of which could be deduced without outside research, except by the most linguistically polymathic of solvers; and how about thematic concepts such as, for instance at random, the Brunel Box Tunnel sunrise, and the Flann O'Brien 'At Swim Two Birds' burning hotel, which are essential to the final solution of most Listeners, and which couldn't possibly be resolved by deduction from "within the crossword itself".

'Outside' research is obviously - to me at any rate - essential.
The giant brains that not only can solve the clues, but also have all the onboard information that enables them to deduce the details of every theme, however arcane, without reaching outside the grid, must be lonely indeed.

How people managed with only the BRB, maybe a shelf-load of Britannica, and the ODQ, before the availability of powerful encyclopaedic and analytic online devices like Google, Wikipedia, Chambers App, and anagram solvers - and Bradfords, I can't really imagine.

(...although on consideration, when I started attempting to solve Listeners many decades ago, I must have been doing exactly that!)

Good for you, Don! 100% agree.

triceratops

- re the instruction, i dont think so, mine didnt but i think i have carried out the instruction correctly.

- re 7d, ill start by saying that this is one of the 7 thematically altered entries (because im not sure how much help you are after)

triceratops - the definition for 7d is "cloak" & the solution needs to be shortened for entry. It's made up of 2 parts - "Every" & "chief" - which have to "stand up", ie be inverted.

Triceratops, and possibly others, I will advance a very tentative suggestion based on the title of the puzzle. Happy to be debunked, taken down, corrected, etc.

The “way in” obviously is via 1a and 1d, with all the fun of the technically affected entries. This all leads to the particular “exponent” and to something/where associated with that exponent, which includes 20a and what is to be highlighted.

The instruction and endgame reveals that the history of 20a, particularly an issue related to or signalled in the title of the puzzle, is the real or possibly “core” theme.

This will (I hope) read very laboriously and mysteriously to those who have not completed the puzzle. I absolutely do not want to spoil it.

If you think I have over-stepped the mark I hereby authorise Norah to delete this entire post if anyone objects.

Nicely done, Jack. I have just understood how easy it would have been to do that, specially as we were asking about the possibility of making a neat entry.

Quixote, I hope you recognise my apology at post 35!

wrt posts 16 & 21, if you care to look up syllabic shorthand you may understand why, after several hours looking this up and going round in an infinite number of circles, I was so frustrated. After setting the puzzle aside and enjoying a nice bottle of wine and a good nights sleep, I stumbled upon the right 1a and everything fell into place relatively quickly. I then congratulated Artix on what, for me, ended up as a wonderful puzzle.

My wife says that I am a grumpy old git, and even brought me a Mr. Grumpy cup from Santa - I wonder why?

Always learning - Having spent all working life in and around location, I had no inkling of the denouement...