A tough puzzle, I found. Was slow to get the 15-letter entries, but got all in the end. As always, some excellent clues from Punk. Solving time: 41 mins.

* = anagram

ACROSS

1 F OWL P EST Infest = in fest owl = bird p= population primarily (first letter). Won’t reopen the “Can indeed be in deed?” debate.

11 GLAD STONE My favourite clue in the puzzle, jointly with 23 down. Wonderful surface reading. If you’re interested in him, I’d strongly recommend Roy Jenkins’ biography. Illuminates a vanished world.

12 HOARSE “Horse” Dicts confirm these sound the same, which frankly surprised this blogger.

13 CHIC (stylish) KPEA peak with k moved to front. I’ve learnt today that garbanzo is another name for it.

16 GOTTLIEB DAIMLER (Time a tollbridge)* Though the anagram jumped out from the start, this took me quite a while, esp the first name.

18 W (EAR TH) E T ROUSERS. Our home = earth weak individual = wet disturbing people = rousers. Definition = dominate but the whole surface reading gives an excellent &lit flavour too.

19 TOT (ALI) TY Mohamed Ali, boxer = ringmaster

24 OLD SCHOOL fish collectively = school

27 TEMPLE Double definition - not 100% sure of this cos of some doubt re 25 down (see below)

28 NEON A TAL (e) ’short story’ was good

DOWN

2 WAR (battles) M AS T (upright) OAST (oven) Excellent

3 PORT (left) - S (A) LUT

7 (l)EGO Excellent - roof lifted as it’s a down clue and wordplay follows the appearance in the grid.

8 T (HE’S) AURUS Sign of the Zodiac. When starting to tackle crosswords many years ago (long before Bradford’s , electronic solvers, not to mention the Internet), I was advised to try (Roget’s) Thesaurus. Have to admit it rarely helped at all.

9 P (ACHY D) ERM Less than 50% checking made this tough

14 P (OLLEN CO) UNT (colonel)* This was good with a misleading surface reading

15 RECEPTION Double definition

16 GO (WITHO) UT Definition = want. “how it may be” is telling us to put (how it)* into (’cutting’) gout = disease. Not too sure about the anagram indicator ‘may be’.

17 IBUPROFEN (pub on fire)* Surreal surface reading of the day.

20 LOCAL cf lo-cal (low-calorie) Very good

23 BLUE “Tone down” My other joint favourite clue with a standard phrase leading to an excellent double definition.

25 DIM I think. This worried me, though I guessed it straightaway. It seemed a straight definition so was not sure why there was a ‘?’

Mostly fairly straightforward, I found, but some tricky clues.   Solving time: 18 mins.

Notes on some clues below - happy to explain others if asked.

ACROSS

11 RED EEM    Definition is ‘deliver’    claret = red and final letters ‘latest’= of ‘the wine firm’

14 TIMEKEEPER    Time is the enemy.

19 ERENOW     Hidden.   Definition is ‘previously’    Only six (letters)  of wERE NO Women

DOWN

8 A CH IE VER(y)

12 PEN (I)CILLIN         Writin’ = pencillin’

15 SECOND ER   “Our present Queen is champion!”    Tip-top clue, my favourite in puzzle.  Champion = backer = seconder.    Queen Elizabeth II is second ER.