No 9695, Monday 23 Nov 09, M.Manna

Some awful clues today
ACROSS
 1  - Proposition from me to her (7) - THEOREM*
 5  - On way, somehow lost quarter of horses under their care (7) - {OSTL*}{E}RS Anno pending
10 - A game on which the captain rules (6) - BRIDGE [DD]
11 - Banish to a lower division (8) - RELEGATE [E] Relegate is not Banishing in the true sense
12 - To pose a threat to a mean engineer, improper (6) - MENA*{CE} Engineer on double duty?
13 - Saying little, go after Act I production (8) - TACI*{TURN}
14 - The motto of British is to revert to the low point of the problem (6) - {B}OTTOM* Why of the problem?
15 - Given directions, uses the right piece (6) - {R}ECIPE* Given or gives?
18 - A big German gun not to sleep on one (6) - BERTH{A}
20 - Al got them together to meet her (6) - THELMA*
23 - Latch properly to tie one related to sports (8) - ATHLETIC*
25 - Concedes it’s mad to make changes (6) - ADMITS*
26 - Fellow turned it, fool, it’s only fractional part (8) - {MAN}{TI<-){SSA<-} )
27 - Not free from variation (6) - UNEVEN [E]
28 - Aerial delivered before woman returned (7) - {ANTE}NNA<- )e
29 - It may be hot for her in a common Eurasian wasteland (7) - {HEATH}{ER} Where has her H gone? Anno doubtful
DOWN
 2  - Ambassador has caviare for superstars (6) - {HE}{ROE}S S from?
 3  - Only fellow on strike? (3,3,3) - ODD MAN OUT [CD]
 4  - Either U or I? (7) - ELEMENT [CD]
 6  - Makes a stroke that curves through the air (7) - SPLICER ? Anno pending
 7  - Arranges to get in Illinois with neither spurious nor false claim (5) - LEGIT*
 8  - Hopeless situations (8) - RATTRAPS [CD] What a hopeless clue if the answer is correct
 9  - Initiate march another way — one has to handle numbers (13) - ARITHMETICIAN*
16 - Tom, say, swallows representative piece of cheese (9) - CA{MEMBER}T
17 - Trains soldier to control use of force (8) - {RE}STRAIN*
19 - A skilled worker ran it as required (7) - ARTISAN*
21 - Removal time guaranteed (7) - {ERA}{SURE}
22 - A goddess writing one note after another (6) - ATHENE Anno pending
24 - Henry gets in late to use machine (5) - LAT{H}E

GRID