Cryptic crossword No 1,568

Grateful acknowledgment to petersaucepan in the Guardian of 18 Jan 2024 for the splendidly absurd suggestion which is the basis of 8 across; I actually felt moved to construct an entire puzzle around it.

Nice one Gollum! Some lovely clues in here and a lot of well-deserved bashing. A few small ‘liberties’ tripped me up but I’ll forgive you! Favourites: 11a, 25a, 26a, 1d, 3d, 5d, 6d and 22d.

Thanks Gollum, favourites 11a, 12a, 26a, 1d, 3d, 10d. Quite a few quibbles too, but given the fun and overall sentiment I think they can be overlooked (just this once! 😜) Thanks again!

Thanks Gollum. Favourites were 1d, 6d, 10d and 21d....

Enjoyed this one! 3d 21a 26a my favourites. Some I got but couldn't parse...