Cryptic crossword No 2,690

Thanks SJ. It looked really tough at first but patience was rewarded. Top class punning all over the place.

...btw I got 8a by assuming a religious connection to 3d which I now realise was probably unintended but hey, the brain works how the brain works.

Great fun with some clever surfaces. Particularly liked 9a, 14a, 24a, 7d and 16a. Thanks.

This was fun, some neat CDs (always a treat when you get them ) and some twisty ones that I stumbled to without following the wordplay, which once revealed made me smile at the cleverness (20a!). Other faves included 8a,9a,24a and 1d,2d,3d

Thanks, SwanseaJack, liked that a lot. Tough one for me (a relative beginner) but I finished with just one unparsed, which I'm quite chuffed about! I particularly enjoyed 14a, 15a, 22a, 24a and 7d but my favourite was the superbly misleading surface in 4d.