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HI everyone

I was even later then usual today as I took the opportuntiy to visit one of my favourite gardens, which was open today. Rocky have you been to High Garden at Kenton?

So got started at 4.30pm and thought a Paul, it will be difficult, but I breezed through a lot of it. Got 14ac etc first as I could see it was an anagram and guessed the last word, so the rest fell into place. I enjoyed all the Pauline clues, all of which I spotted early on.

But inevitably I got stuck on parsing some and I have one left - 20d. Can I have a hint please. I have ?E?N?S

I had trouble parsing 11ac - I had spelt the first word wrong - with a d instead of a t. I think I've got it now from a thread above.
I can't parse 5ac, but I'm not sure of 7d and I'm not sure my answer to 6d means "then". Equally I can't see the parsing for 12ac.
Despite the explanation above, I cannot see the parsing for 27ac and I wasn't sure about the parsing for 28ac. I may have it wrong which would explain why I can't get 20d.
13d I can't see a three letter word meaning giant cut.

But I found it hugely enjoyable, more like the Paul I used to like a lot. I loved 3d, especially after the penny dropped.

Hi Roof,

20d - 3 letter "figure" (numerical) + "recuperation finally" + "is" (from the clue) - definition is a game that involves "rallying" and all your letters are correct.

5 - 3 letter "before" followed by a 4 letter "pet" reversed/'rolls over' - definition is "movement with paws on ground" (very loose)

7d - 3 letter "mountain runner" goes around/'holds' "a book" (1,3) reversed/up' and finally "a" from the clue - definition is "European country"

12a - 3 letter "old fellow" (as in 'chum') punched by "you" - definition is "cruciverbalist"

27a - single letter "ultimately snack" + 2 letter "good" (shortening of a 5 letter word often meaning "sanctimonious") all goes inside/'to fill' 4 letter "hole" - definition is "meaty one"

28a - single letter "fifty" + 6 letter "those putting on" - definition is "runs"

13d - the "giant" is 4 letters but it's "cut" so you omit its last letter and that goes inside/'bandaged'(by) "black and blue" - definition is "beaten up" (thanks to Geeker who parsed this for me)

Many thanks Brendan

I had got them all right. I just couldn't see why. I couldn't see the answer to 20d as rallying, but you have pointed it out now. Very obscure I think.

My FOI 14ac etc,LOI 20d and CODs lots, but I thought 3d outstanding and 22ac and laughed at a number including 25ac etc

Wow, that was fun. Something about Paul, even though you know it will be tough, it’s also fair, if that makes sense? Got horribly stuck about halfway through but once I got 17 and saw what was going on in a few other clues (especially in NW), the rest fell into place. Solving time - just under one day (!) but thank you Paul!

Not my favourite compiler but touch of genius here, especially 14a etc. His humour can be schoolboy playground stuff at times but thoroughly enjoyed this . Thank you forum for help with some parsing .

Thanks for the tip Roof. Kenton is not far from me so I will make a note.

Was driving and spectating yesterday so very sporadic. Finally finished today. Nothing needs saying about this that hasn't already been said here. Thanks Paul for a classic. 25a took me right back to school.

FOI 14a etc. LOI 11a which eluded me for a long time. COD 22a.

Rocky7, we also used that terms for 25ac, but your comment caused curious me to search for why that particular name is used for the items preventing a population explosion!

Did you get any enlightenment Playbus?

I have no evidence for this but, could it have been an important piece of equipment for stage-door-johnnies?