A tough Tuesday workout from the Moleman.  Lots of nice clues with terrific surface reading and a good challenge all round.  Bit puzzled over the explanation for 18.

ACROSS (*) = ANAGRAM,   (CD) = CRYPTIC DEFINITION, (R) = REVERSAL

1  DEWDROP      WED (R) + DROP

5  FRACAS     FR + ACAS  (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service) - a group for medioating against employment decisions / strikes etc.

9 PILASTER   LAST inside PIER

10  SLIP UP   PUPIL’S (R)

12  INSTRUMENTAL  Double def.

15  ATTENDANCE   DECENT TAN*

17 19  LAMBED  Loved this clue -  brought into the fold (LAM - 17 BED - 19)  and caused uproar (BED - 19  LAM -17).

20 LEDERHOSEN  (CD)  Hide = leather shorts that would be found in a German bar.  Brings back chilling memories of the Hofbrauhaus in Liverpool. Don’t go there, and if you have the blackmail photos, I’ll pay.

22  DO-IT-YOURSELF   TEDIOUSLY FOR*

26  ICE BAG      I.E. with C (COLD) +  GAB (R)

28  ERSATZ    Hidden answer

29  RENAMED  MEN DARE*  Windscale Nuclear Power Plant was renamed Sellafield.

DOWN

1   DOPE     DO P.E.

2 25  WALLOWED   ALL inside WOWED

3  RESONANT   REASON minus A + ANT

4  PLEAT    POLECAT minue O and C.  Tiny grumble but having the same unusual device in consecutive clues is a shame.

6   RELIEF   Double def, one of which is relief as in the artistic meaning.

7  CAPITALISE   nice CD

8  SUPPLEMENT    SUPPLE MEN + T

11  MUSCLE    Homophone for MUSSEL

13  BARBED WIRE   BEWARE BIRD* 

14  STODGINESS    DOTS (R) + G I + NESS

15  AVENUE    Hidden reversal

18  CHILDREN   Issue is obviously def, plus I can see C + HEN for Cold Bird but not sure about remainder of clue.

21  TYRANT    THEY RANT minus HE

22  SEVER     V inside SEER

24  SIAM     Nice hidden clue  

Thanks to Taupi for an enjoyable puzzle.

This was the first time I’ve encountered Merlin, and I found it a stiff (but satisfying) challenge. There were some easy ones which got me started, but I then needed to make a few leaps of faith with some other clues and had to do some checking of badgers, compounds, Venetians and Portsmouth players to confirm a few others. One or two bits of wordplay have me stumped though.

Appropriately enough, I gained toehold in the grid with 9 ac.  After only some three in this set, I moved to Down segment where many fell quickly, one after the other.

I must confess that even after thirty minutes with the puzzle, I could not get a couple. See below.

It is an utter defeat for me as these clues do not have any abstruse UK references. It is just that my brain is tired in Madras where mercury has been hovering above 40 degrees C for the past couple of days. 

Across

1 BOOKWORM - charade - book, worm

5 APPALS - deletion - app(-e)als

9 TREADING - charade - t, reading

10 ESCAPE - charade with anagram - esca (anag. of ‘case’), PE

12 LIE IN WAIT - cryptic def - I am unable to interpret it to my entire satisfaction. 

13 HOARD - container/contained - h(o)ard - Nice departure from the usual hoard/horde homophone ploy.

19 CANTEEN - charade - can, teen

24 FRESH - two def - The clue is “Alert forward”. I am interpreting it as alert = fresh = forward.

25 Not solved - The clue is: End of activities agreed by church. Possibly safe to show anger? (9) (On edit, following a comment below) CEASEFIRE - charade with an anagram - CE, asef (anag. of ’safe’), ire 

27 OPAQUE - charade with deletion - o, p(-l)aque

28 FORENSIC - charade with anagram - f, oresnic (anag. of ‘in score’)

29 DAMSEL - container/contained - MS. in dael (anag. of ‘deal’)

30 INITIATE - charade - I, nit, I, ate

Down

1, 2 BOTTLE OPENER - charade

3 WIDEN - charade - w, I, Den(-nis) - Hope my annotation is correct.

4 RANSACK - charade - ran, sack

6 POST-HASTE - anag. after deletion - Good surface reading. Anag. of ‘osteopath’s’ after removing O (’disc’). But note that we remove only one O while the anag. fodder has two Os.

7 A LA CARTE - Cryptic def.

8 STEADIER - Anag. of ‘as E tried’

11 STIR - Two def.

15 OPEN HOUSE - charade with anagram - openh (anag. of hope, N.)  + Ouse

17 SCAFFOLD - anag. after deletion - anag. of ’scoldffa’ after removing I (one) from ’scold FIFA’

18 UNDERARM - charade with a c/c - under, a.(r.)m.

20 Not solved - The clue is: Take health, for example (4) (On edit) NICK - two def. - See comment below.

21 PLATOON - charade with reversal - Plato, on (rev. of no.)  The def. ‘Greek’ for Plato appears to be rather bald.

22, 23 AIR-SEA RESCUE - anag. of ‘E cruises are a’

26 Not solved - The clue is: In the long run university colleague missed the occasion (5). The answer may be EVENT but I am unable to justify it. (On edit, following a comment below) EVENT - deletion - deleteing U (University), ally (colleague) from ‘eventually’ (’in the long run’)

Apologies everyone. I did this crossword yesterday but failed to see that I was on blogging duty.
A good but straightforward Rufus!