No 12901, Saturday 04 Apr 2020, Vulcan

Day 11 of 21 Stay safe at home

ACROSS
1   It is wavering in a frenzy state (4,8) WEST VIRGINIA {IT+IS+WAVERING*}
10 English club // magazine (7) ARSENAL (DD)
11 She flies from Scandinavia to Romania (7) AVIATOR (T)
12 Quarters in a vessel where dogs are kept (6) KENNEL {KE{NN}EL}
13 Corrupt nationalist leader’s government ending after 10 years (8) DECADENT {DECADE}{Nationalist}{governmenT}
15 Financial expert more positive after change of rate (9) TREASURER {RATE*}{SURER}
16 Try a flavour (5) TASTE (DD)
17 With vacation starting off, knit (5) WEAVE {W}{lEAVE}
19 King’s photo gets strong criticism (9) PHILIPPIC {PHILIP}{PIC}
22 Leaves one woman after another (8) ROSEMARY {ROSE}{MARY}
24 Simply occupied by training in public (6) OPENLY {O{PE}NLY}
26 Drink, breathe, drunk (4,3) HERB TEA {BREATHE*}
27 Free-range eggs consumed with aromatic herb (7) OREGANO {OO} around {RANGE*}
28 Accomplishments native scheme brought about (12) ACHIEVEMENTS {NATIVE+SCHEME*}

DOWN
2   Significance of German city church (7) ESSENCE {ESSEN}{CE}
3   Teens seen rioting in this state (9) TENNESSEE  {TEENS+SEEN*}
4   Do nothing during paid leave (4) IDLE (T)
5   Tree part figure reproduced (10) GRAPEFRUIT {PART+FIGURE*}
6   Top advocate in city (5) NOIDA {NO I}{DA}
7   Monroe, say, with a basically cool hairdo (7)  ACTRESS {A}{Cool}{TRESS}
8   Without leader, group making noise (6) RACKET {bRACKET}
9   Thrash horse in pen (6) WRITHE {WRIT{H}E}
14 Pressure on an emperor to develop a particular empire (6,4) PROPER NAME {P}{AN+EMPEROR*}
16 Ending anecdote with silence, say (9) TAILPIECE {~TALE PEACE}
17 A line about your old-fashioned dignitary (6) WORTHY {ROW<=}{THY}
18 Country, not a large one (7) AUSTRIA {AUSTRalIA}
20 Put an end to being jazzy — leaves out perhaps an ornament (7) PENDANT {Put+AN+END+To*}
21 Old country with pricey, lonely housing (6) CEYLON (T)
23 Suit and tie (5) MATCH (DD)
25 Finally completed an over (4) DONE {completeD}{ONE}

Reference List

Quarters=NN, With=W, Photo=Pic, Training=PE, Eggs=OO
Church=CE, Top=Noi(No 1), Advocate=DA, Horse=H, Pressure=P, Your old-fashioned=Thy, Large=L, An=One

Colour/Font Scheme

Definition, Solution, Component letters, Embedded links, Theme word,  Anagram Indicator, C/C indicator, Reversal Indicator, Hidden word Indicator, Letter Pick indicator, Deletion Indicator, Homophone Indicator, Movement Indicator, Positional Indicator, Substitution, Indicator, Opposite indicator, Link/Connector, Extraneous

Dr RKE's TalePiece

Jeet Sax, a handsome AVIATOR, had grown up in TENNESSEE, where his Indian parents, the Saxenas, hailing from NOIDA, had emigrated when Jeetendra was a toddler. He was topper from the WEST VIRGINIA flying school. He had become well-known for his ACHIEVEMENTS of solo-flying rescue operations of stranded Appalachian mountaineers. He also ran a  boutique cafe, specializing in Oriental and Mediterranean flavors. ROSEMARY HERB TEA, with a dash of GRAPEFRUIT ESSENCE , OREGANO and  CEYLON cinnamon, the cafe's signature dish was hailed for its unique aroma.  

Ms. Natasha, an ACTRESS from AUSTRIA, who had come for a film shoot in Charleston, WV, fell in love not just with that heady brew but also with Jeet Sax, the dashing owner of the cafe. Their TASTEs MATCHed well and after a whirlwind coutship, soon the engagement was DONE. The unusual pair was fodder for IDLE gossip and the local tabloid, OPENLY flashed pictures of Natasha, wearing a PROPER platinum PENDANT, with Jeet's NAME inscribed on it. The DECADENT lensman of course focussed more on Natasha's WORTHY assets than just her neckwear. 

Adam Doggerty, the TREASURER of the local KENNEL club and a friend of Jeet, was incensed and raised a RACKET. Adam wrote a blistering PHILIPPIC to the tabloid but I don't imagine that the reporter was left WRITHing. 

The TAILPIECE of  this little tale was that within a few weeks the tabloid broke the news of the annulment of the engagement of Jeet and Natasha and the engagement of Natasha to Adam. The lesson WEAVEd into the tale, is that the ARSENAL of handsomeness,  charm and money is no match to good old chivalry, when it comes to winning a woman's heart.