CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Carve fashionable bed in southeast (8) 5 Rat that usually floats (3,3) 9 State of ancient object impressing bar (8) 10 Bill entertains priest and writer (6) 12 Patient, originally unwell, given this? (4) 13 Party without bishop after current increase (10) 15 Top job held by top man briefly at the centre (5,8) 19 How it all began — began with right boy in trouble (3,4,6) 23 Area Briton cultivated shows deviation from norm (10) 25 Gas board circumvents restraining order (4) 28 Cross part of UK heading west (6) 29 Hand out exotic tea around local ground (8) 30 First-born, disheartened, settled elsewhere (6) 31 Charlatan’s ‘I’m destitute’ taking in kind person (8)

DOWN

1 Burst in faulty stirrup throwing leader (6) 2 Given time, this part of flower should reveal petals (5) 3 Polish Yankee gemstone (4) 4 Bread and cheese impressing old chief (7) 6 Generous politician invested in drink (5) 7 See stage worker coming in with Grace (9) 8 Joke about Dutch and French railway contraptions (8) 11 Hairy creature still a source of intrigue? (4) 14 Some primarily resurrected former unit in Italy (4) 15 Stubborn, as is ‘Lord of the Flies’ (9) 16 Dull pal? Not entirely (3) 17 Image stylish company adopted (4) 18 Rough sailor is picked up in party (8) 20 Call up English people attending match (4) 21 Tough cowl on chimney up north (7) 22 Problem involving uniform affected individual (6) 24 Sources labour-saving devices British ignored (5) 26 Extremely small colonial worker’s opinion (5) 27 Very very mediocre (2-2)