Cryptic crossword No 1,765

Marvellous! Mostly a gift but I had to take a mental break at 75% to reset the brain... came back and the last bits fell into place nicely. Liked 9a, 12a, 14, 4d and 19d. Query in reply. Thanks!

Thanks tpg; that was quite a workout for me, but worth the effort. The surfaces were admirable and much of the wordplay wonderfully devious, all very clever. Like Henri, I had to have two bites at this but the quality of cluing motivated me to push on and avoid any reveals. I particularly enjoyed the aha moments of 8a, 15a, 17a, 24a, 21d, 24d among others. One spoilery thought in reply…

I enjoyed this tpg. Not as much of a gift as Henri found it - or, at least, not at the very end where I struggled with the interlinked 1d and 12a. Some very nice surfaces constructed in here inc 8a, 17a, 24a, 26a, 2d, 4d, 7d, 13d and 22d. Spoiler in Reply. Thanks. PM

Thanks tpg, enjoyed this, needed a bit of help along the way, but a fun rewarding solve with some great ahas! :) Favourites included 9a, 10a, 15a, 17a, 23a, 7d, 13d (spoiler..)