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rocky7 - for 9, think Stoke ....

Rocky don’t know if I have my compass points right! 10 across is what a Scotsman wears in his tartan sock.

Thanks Prospero, I thought that but couldn't parse the first word. In all honesty this has not been a pleasure today. I'm not feeling the love.

Prosperous, you answered. Gone the wrong way again!

playbus - I too always have to think 3 times about east and west!

What a nightmare! After staring at the thing for hours I've no idea what the SI could be and have only completed about a quarter of the grid - it galls me to give up but I think I'll have to!

Hi Neville
Brendan suggested a way in @2 above: try 27a. ‘Church’ gives you the last two letters, and ‘unforeseen problem’ is the definition. The first three letters should then give you a strong hint of the theme.

Rocky7, in case you haven’t got there with the parsing of 9, the first word is a dish in the sense of a foodstuff, and forms the first and last three words of the solution. The insertion is a theme word.

Thanks Rogissimo, I THINK I get it now 😉

The NE quadrant crossing answers 5, 6, 8 and 10 held me up forever and I nearly threw in the towel.

Wordplay for 10 was clear, but a word new to me that required Google.

5 is a rare word, I vaguely recalled the last 3 letters and then was able to figure it the rest.

Stalled out on 8, which wound up LOI, because I became fixated on the wrong (I.) Murdoch.

6 was probably the most time-consuming clue. I also fixated on ACE for a while but gave up...by the final stages I was wondering why an obvious expected 3-letter special insert hadn't yet occurred...and that cracked it!

I should thank Boatman again for the puzzle. It gives a much better impression the morning after.