Across
1 COQUET
4ALNMOUTH This was my start point. It looked like an anagram, and that gave me 21 across.
10 AND OR RAN
11 IN DISC R IM IN ATE
12 PRE SIGNIFY Y setting of ” gins if”gave me the anagram, and then prey sprang to mind.
14 TYNE It was only after I put it in that I saw it came from twenTY NEarly.
16 COMB
18 FOUR LEGGED Again I got the answer before I saw the anagram of rule in the midst of fogged.
21 NOR THUMBER LAND. Being a well brought up boy I got the Norland reference quickly!
24 HEX HAM
25 SCHEDULE as in shed yule.
26 ALS T O N, also about t(ime) followed by Northumberland’s first.

Down
1 CASH After an initial panic that my first crossword to solve for the site was by Araucaria, I got this as my starter and calmed down (briefly).
2 QUEENIE, nearly quiet about e’en.
3 EX PL I C IT - one in Plc, in exit.
5 L IN DIS FAR NE having guessed this I had to check what Dis is, and, as everyone else knows, he’s the Roman God of the Underworld.
6 MY O PIC
7 UNREADY Dounreay, minus do (party) and insert the Roman number D.
8 HINDER END Hindered with N inserted.
12 CAN NON MET AL I started from canal for waterway, and the rest fell into place.
13 PECUNIOUS anagram.
15 PELL MELL PM with two ells inserted, an ell being an old measure of cloth - a yard and a quarter.
17 MORPETH, made me laugh. Inserting R into a lisping Mopes gives the town name.
19 GUNSHOT. I assume the clue refers to ‘0′ size buckshot?
20 S HARED
22 O MEN which is a presignifier, and a greeting to a lot of chaps!.

Even by Virgilius’ exalted standards, I thought this was really special - famous names reversed being a big part of it.    The theme revealed itself gradually as the grid filled up.

Solving time:  31 mins

* = anagram  < = reversal

ACROSS

3/1A  PETER PAN   From J M Barrie’s play - character who never grows up - hence play-boy.

6 TH(ieves) ROB

10/3D  ALEXANDER POPE  (poet)  There have been eight Popes called Alexander.

12 RACE M(EMOR)Y   Rome<      Same meaning as folk memory.

14 E (CO) NOMIC    (income)*       Excellent surface.

18/15/26  SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE  (poet)    Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (composer).

20 ROSEMARY   Mary Rose,  KING (11) HENRY (28) VIII’s warship.  “Exchanging parts”.  Wondered if the 1128 was run together deliberately to look like a year.     That was my first reading before twigging it referred to clue numbers.

23 MARKS W (with) OMEN   Great clue.

28/11  HENRY KING    Got this from the “backward” monarch - later verifying he’s a character in Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales who chewed bits of string.

30  TRY   Hear (a court case).    Rugby score, which the scoring team follows by getting a kick at goal to convert it (and make 5 points 7).

DOWN

4 TIA MARIA    Aunt Maria in Spanish.   A liqueur  “that gets drunk” is definition.

8/25  BARRY JOHN    Famous Welsh stand-off half (so wore No 10).   Lloyd George (Welsh PM) at No 10 Downing Street.

16 ROYAL NAVY    Royal blue and navy blue.

17 HOME TEAM   Pleasing cryptic definition I solved first time around.

22 HORDES    “Hoards”

25/8  JOHN BARRY   John = gospel  music - bar  ry = railway.

Solving Time: 14 minutes

Fairly straightforward fare with a couple of nice off-the-wall clues.  Bit baffled by 24 down.

ACROSS   * = Anagram  (r) = Reversal  (CD) =  Cryptic definition

1  MEMBER (RE)MEMBER
5  GEOMETRY GET ROME* + Y (Italy’s latest)
9  LEONARDO ON REAL DA*  If I had a grumble, it is with this clue. It can be
  argued that “Da” is also part of the definition as well.
10 HAIRDO Cut = definition  H + RADIO*
11 PEEWIT WEEP (R) + it
12 THROTTLE (CD)
14 DANISH PASTRY A PANTRY’S DISH*  Nice appropriate anagram
18 TOP-HEAVINESS  (CD)
22 VERBATIM BRAVE* + TIM   I think I preferred Nimrod’s version of this clue in last
  Saturday’s Indy.
25 LEEWAY LEE + WAY
26 COSSET COS + SET
27 NEGLIGÉE (CD) This clue’s a bit weak for me.  The CD is too close to a normal def.
28 KEROSENE KNEE ROSE *
29 TIERED TIE + RED

DOWN
2  ELEVEN Prime Number + Coffee break time
3  BANDWIDTH BAND + WI + D + TH  Bit of a clunky clue for a difficult word to clue.
4  RURITANIA  Hooray!  Kudos to Flimsy for not using Land of Hope as a hackneyed  
  clue for this.  R + URANIA about IT.  URANIA is one of the nine Muses from
  Greek mythology
5  GLOTTIS L in GOT + TIS
6  OTHER (H)OT + HER
7  ELIOT CD - George Eliot - Not a male novelist, really!
8  RED ALERT  R + RELATED*
13 OVA  V  in o A
15 PREFLIGHT CD
16 SYSTEMISE MESSY SITE*
17 FOREGONE RE in FOG + ONE
19 ERA  ARE*
20 IMMENSE IM + M + SEEN*
21 GAMETE GET ME A*
23 BASSO A BOSS*
24 TYTHE/TITHE  can’t parse this clue -  thought it might be TY (Man) with THE.
  ”They leave the man with the rent (5)