Cryptic crossword No 301

Very good. 5a, 9a2d and 8d were particularly clever.

I came here looking for something a bit less brain mangling than today’s Vlad and this fit the bill nicely - some that made me think a bit but nothing too taxing. Particularly liked 9a/2d for the clever wordplay. Spoiler in reply…

Good one Filatore, thanks! Lots of accurate and inventive clueing. I thought that 9A 2D, 28A, 5D and 23D were particularly good.

I enjoyed this, largely finding it reasonably challenging without being too tough. 10A, 1D, 8D, 13D were all favourites. Spoiler in reply

Thanks, Filatore! My favourites: 1a, 25a, 27a, 28a, 5d, 19d. Last in was 18a which I kicked myself for. Couldn't parse 5A but on checking the annotated solutions it was fair, just relied on a sneaky connection I hadn't made. Good job!

Nice work Filatore. I particularly enjoyed 1a, 9a/2d, 28a, 20d & 24d. Still struggling to fully parse 25a, even with the annotated solution - just character placement, but I may be overlooking something. Well done - more please!