Cryptic crossword No 158

Lovely puzzle, very elegantly clued. Good work, Popcorn

Thanks Popcorn, this was fun! 7a, 11a, and 23a were my highlights :)

Enjoyed this Popcorn. Thank you. 23a is a wonderful clue!

Really enjoyable crossword with some exceptionally elegant clues, my favourites being 7a, 9a, 18a, 23a, 6d. Almost without exception your surfaces read very well, something a number of professional compilers don’t always manage. If I’m to be really critical (and you are at the level where that’s appropriate), I think a few of the definitions in the wordplay are a little dodgy, but that’s the only criticism I can think of [SPOILERS IN REPLY]