Cryptic crossword No 1,732

In November 2024 my Uncle Simon will turn 70, and I’m hoping this personalised crossword will be a nice surprise for him. Some of the clues and wordplay are for/about him, so here’s some knowledge you’ll need for solving. Please let me know what you think of the clues, all feedback appreciated for tweaking before November :) Info in following reply:

There is some excellent stuff in here; anyone would be happy to have produced 10a, 26a, 4d, 7d (how true!), 8d. Generally a lot of clues are wordier than is ideal, and sometimes the surfaces don’t really work, e.g. 14a. One is actually unsound another probably unfair. But an excellent basis for your work. Spoilers in replies.

Thanks nephew, what a lovely present. I agree with Gollum's comprehensive points, the main issue being clue length (I personally enjoy wordy clues that 'tell a story', but many of these take it too far and feel overly 'bitty' if that makes sense?) There are various 'technical' issues too - I guess the extent to which you'll want to address these will depend on how much of a crossword 'purist' Uncle Simon is! So, to add to Gollum's observations ...