Cryptic crossword No 1,121

Hi HA. Any chance of some Annotations before I comment on an enjoyable but tricky puzzle? I have not parsed all. I have no idea at all about one. And I have not made sense of the SI yet. Many thanks. PM

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa for a very careless mistake in 20d, caught by PostMark, to whom I owe thanks. Clue now changed.

Thanks for a fun puzzle HA - and good to see you back here! I found the top half quite a bit easier than the bottom half for some reason. Not sure if that has anything to do with the SI, which I haven’t decoded at all. Lots of invention and some interesting surfaces to enjoy! My favourites were: 9a, 12a, 29a, 1d, 4d, 21d and 23d. Spoilers...

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Solution to bonus clue in SI in reply to this comment (hence, spoiler!)

Well done, HA. I thought I'd make a fresh comment rather than add to the admin one of last night. Like Coot, I found the N easier than the S, and then the SW easier than the SE which resisted, as a virgin quarter, until the end. Favourites include 1a, 9a, 14a, 29a, 1d, 2d and 17d. Spoilers in Reply. Thanks. PM

Thanks HA, an enjoyably tough solve with some super surfaces. Faves 9a (nho, but nicely clued), 10a, 14a, 1d, 17d & 21d. Spoilers ...

Cool grid fill HA, thanks for a fun puzzle. My solving experience was remarkably similar to PM's, with an almost unfilled SE the final section to fall. I particularly liked 9a (fun), 10a (neat), 14a (fun), 25a (neat), 1d (cool indicator), 4d (nice) and 23d (cute) - lovely stuff!