Cryptic crossword No 2,130

Very good fun, Coot - just the right level for me on the last leg of a travel-heavy week. 11A, 27a, and 24d made my podium

Good honest fun, Coot. I think only 15a made my head hurt! Likes included 9a, 27a and 21d. Couples of things down below..

This is above my pay grade but I thought 28a was great

Got 15a once I had crossers. Quite a homophone heavy grid, not a complaint though. 1a is a nice touch. Took a while to see the reversal in 4d so used a word search. Liked the trick with ‘sinned’ in 11a, the use of ‘a’ in 18d, and 22a was very neat. Didn’t get the def for counter in 17a until check grid. I had a scrabble counter at first. Thanks.

Nicely done, Coot. Funnily enough the two long 'uns at 1a and 1d went in almost immediately which gave me a good head start. Faves inc 11a, 19a, 27a, 5d, 13d, 18d and 24d. Thanks. PM

Thanks Coot, good stuff. Faves include 9a, 11a, 19a (maybe capital J for surface?), 1d & 24d. Spoilers ...

Marvellous, if somewhat tricky in parts! I needed a couple of reveals. Although getting the long perimeter answers certainly helped. Faves: 23a, 27a, 8d, 18d and 20d. More in reply -> Thanks!

Thanks Coot, this was quite a challenge for me & I revealed 1a (don't know Lost), 12a, & 23a. I needed your notes to understand what I could only guess -- 15a, 26a, 3d, 4d, 7d, 18d, and 24d. As you can see this was not my best outing! Nonetheless I found much to like including 11a, 14a, 19a, 27a, 1d, and 2d.

Lovely stuff indeed Coot, though this is a holding comment as I've still got a bit in the SW to fill in - I am always impressed by a grid with no black squares in the outer ring as I know how fiddly they can be to fill, plus the long'uns are clued satisfyingly creatively!

Only had time to have a scan of this so far, but did you see this in today's Guardian? "The main means of taking a break from Tom’s joint? (6,4)"

A lovely, assured and witty puzzle Coot. One of your best I’d say with 12a, 22a, 23a/25a combo, 27a (lol), 4d (COTD, just shows excellence doesn’t have to be complicated!) 18d all taking my admiration. Unsure what I think of 15a, but it’s a bit different and fun! One query (SPOILER)

Solved this a while ago but did not leave a comment! Really like 1a and 27a 🤣. The other ones I remember were 12a and 9a. Cheers