No 9486, Saturday, 21 Mar 09, Sankalak

Finished very early today so plenty of time to add some interesting links from the net. I have a sneaky feeling that Sankalak is the nom de plume of an ex-serviceman, lot of military like clues today
ACROSS
 1 - Control, compel and strengthen (9) – REIN{FORCE} Nice and simple clue
 5 - Allow honour to be reversed in roadside resting place (5) – MO<-LET
 8 - It is used in labs to assess the underground (4,4) – TEST TUBE [CD]
 9 - When one is not moving? (2,4) - AT REST [CD]
11 - Express a view on work in English (5) – OP{IN}E
12 - He speaks for his group and, beginning to satirise, prods soldier (9) – S{POKES}MAN Did’nt know that CW setters use MAN to indicate soldier, normally they use GI. So am I an ex-man?
13 - Fish crossing current in comfort (6) – SOL{AC}E
14 - Wine duly processed is awkward to manage (8) – UNWIELDY*
16 - One helping the priest to change, say — a lad (5,3) – ALTAR BOY [CD] Is there any other annotation for this answer? (Update as per comment below - ALTAR (~alter) BOY)
18 - For example, good tea-holder may be seen on the breakfast table (6) – EG{G}CUP I always thought this was a hyphenated word, ie., egg-cup or two separate words all together
22 - Where the Little Boy was dropped in 1945 (9) – HIROSHIMA [CD]
23 - Open sore, a bit painful certainly (5) – ULCER [T]
24 - A note in European capital providing protective cover for radar antennae (6) – R{AD}OME
25 - Mite that may be small and reportedly escape (4,4) – SAND FLEA (~flee) I have had the terrible misfortune of being bitten by these fleas on the beach at Havelock in the Andamans on two occasions. A terrible terrible itchy and painful experience. These fleas are so small that you just can't see them and they come through mosquito netting. Was bitten by them on a beach at Cape Hatteras as well, they are called see-no-me’s in the US.
26 - A wallaby’s stuck in a bottomless pit here (5) – ABYSS [T]
27 - The Frog and the Princess, for one (5,4) - FAIRY TALE [CD]
DOWN
 1 - Proportion points to food allowances (7) – RATIO{N}{S}
 2 - Gradually introduce a modern distilling plant (7) – IN{STILL}
 3 - A welcome caller for kids, come December (6,9) – FATHER CHRISTMAS [CD] Often synonymous with Santa Claus
 4 - Strong old boy covered by result of oxidation (6) – R{OB}UST
 5 - A time for children to honour parent (9,6) – MOTHERING SUNDAY [CD] Never heard of this christian festival before. See the link
 6 - In total loss, girl’s mother is hot (7) – T{HER}{MA}L (total – ota)
 7 - Dormant quality shown by any Celt in trouble (7) – LATENCY*
10, 15 - Type of tournament for a full, plump bird (5,5) – ROUND ROBIN [CD]
15 See 10
16 - A guru, like Vinoba Bhave? (7) - ACHARYA [CD]
17 - Try idle spell in a weary way (7) – TIREDLY*
19 - Body part makes each colonel briefly suffer (7) – COCHLEA* (col+each) Ah my rank appears in the crossword today. Heard of the ENT doctor, who does these cochlear implants? Before the operation he tells his patients the charges are One Thousand and after the operation he bills them One lakh, when queried he tells them they didn't hear him properly as they were deaf before the inplant.
20 - Cost of carrying wine over a period of time (7) – PORT{AGE}
21 - Greeting one with a sausage (6) SALAM{I} Yummy