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I'm not a regular user of the alternatives, cranberryboat, so couldn't be sure of the split - and Chambers hasn't been very helpful in that respect (I still have no idea who favours the T... and who the other). Couldn't find anything comprehensive on the web either.
Same problem with the possible simile to iron out that preamble glitch.

There's a 2 word change (3+2 letters) that would take an 'i', but it's Australian. That's the problem with errors in a published puzzle - everything starts to unravel (I'm half expecting a sneaky move that proves Kruger was right all along).

The only thing I'm stuck with is 10D. I'm pretty sure I have solved the clue (9 letters), although I'd have liked an indication that "lover" is regional. But maybe I'm barking up the wrong thing. I can make no translational sense of what I've got. Is this where others have had difficulty?

Cockie, I think you're OK with 10d. Persist with where you're going.
I'm having trouble with 14 - can't see it at all.

Yes 9 letters, and yes, the 'lover' is Scots - but no difficulty with the exchange, which is in Chambers (just over half of the original answer changes).

14 - 3 letters for the leaves (alt spelling) which are stimulants - the misprint is in the first word of the def.

biggus - look up fabric in Bradford. Leaves is a noun, not a verb. I am happy with 10D now, but I have an I left over which I don't need. Others seem to have had the same problem.

Thanks, drxx and cockie.
I've sorted 14, but may have caused myself another problem in the process. I'm not too fussed, because my wanderings led me to a recipe for Thai stuffed omelette, which looks appealing.
So I think I'm done, notwithstanding that seemingly superfluous 'i'.

Got there in the end with this one. Despite getting the quote early on and having solved/parsed just about all the clues and filled the central column (no double letters), the final penny took a long time to drop.

I wonder if the errant 'i' arises from 1a? It isn't actually changed but but I can see how it might have got pressganged into the list.

This has been a monumental struggle for me, but persistence has paid off, and I have finally completed it. I agree that the "I" is not an unchecked treated letter, so that is unfortunate. Not knowing the answer length to some of the clues nor which misprints affected the definition or wordplay (which were cleverly disguised, particularly in 6a and 7d) increased the difficulty level by a large degree, More like this please!!!! (I'm pretty confident this theme has been covered before in a listener crossword).

Found it = No. 3458, Bugs by Arcturus. I knew it was in one of the Listener crossword books.

Hello!

Help! The penny isn't dropping! I think I've solved all the non-thematics, plus a few of the thematics, and I have the quote and the central column filled. But hours of thinking and staring and pulling hair out have failed to give me any idea of how the thematic clues work.

So, if anyone can give me a nudge in the right direction, then it might save the rest of my hair.

Thanks,
Suzannah