No 13023, Tuesday 25 Aug 2020, Arden

Solution to 17D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS
6   Game covered by some fanatic (5) BIGOT {BI{GO}T}
7   Central fund for one settled outside, is it fair? (8) UNBIASED {fUNd}{B{1}ASED}
10 Reduced work, drinking wine — that’s relaxation in France (7) DETENTE {DE{TENT}Ed}
11 Wayward boy has to tell (7) ERRATIC {ER{RAT}IC}
12 A three-D representation is grounded (7) EARTHED*
13 Vigilant about British incursion, one backs Canadian province (7) ALBERTA {AL{B}ERT}{A}
14 Ripe bananas — touching, but not hard for moving around (11) PERIPATETIC {RIPE*}{PAThETIC}
19 Match cryptic clue, having provided final answer (7) LUCIFER {LUC{IF}E*}{a...eR}

21 Naive girl could be genuine (7) INGENUE*
23 Dishonourable characters — no real code of honour in Japan (7) BUSHIDO {DISHOnoUraBle}*
25 Another name on our entrance (7) ENAMOUR {NAME*}{OUR}
26 Punctual to do, then refuse (2,3,3) ON THE DOT*
27 Arden’s asleep, seen once in a while (5) COMET {CO{ME}T} Asleep = In Cot

DOWN
1   Propaganda support — supports a good thing (8) AGITPROP {PROP}<=>{A}{G}{IT}
2   Order to carry gun, will create stink (6) STENCH {CH}{<=>{STEN}
3   Fantastic Mr.Natwarlal! (5-5) SUPER-DUPER [DD]
4   Order only imported instrument (4) OBOE {OB{O}E}

5   Way to break free perhaps and rot (6) FESTER {ST} in {FREE}*
6   Harry puts up token resistance (6) BADGER {BADGE}{R}
8   Bill picking up bill or tumbler? (7) ACROBAT {AC} and {TAB}{OR}<=
9   Run to school, study (5) SCRAM {S}{CRAM}
13 Attention diverted, end of Marie, perhaps (10) ANTOINETTE {ATTENTION}*{m..iE} Semi&lit
15 Basically rifle carrying gunner, by fluke becomes stylish (7) RAFFISH {RA}{riFle}{FISH}
16 Study battlefield, it will be a clear course (8) CONSOMME {CON}{SOMME}

17 Force to throw the last ball (5) ?L?B? (Addendum - GLOBE {G}{LOB}{thE} - See comments)
18 Fuss about the Queen’s hunt (6) FERRET {F{ER}RET}
20 It’s like in getting into business in Las Vegas (6) CASINO {C{AS IN}O}
22 Look, hit the ball towards fine leg (6) GLANCE [DD]
24 Probability of delay, daily service starts (4) ODDS Acrostic

Reference List

British = B, One = A, Hard = H, Good = G, Order = CH, Only = O, Way = ST(Street), Resistance = R, Bill = AC, TAB, School = S, Gunner = RA(Royal Artillery), Queen = ER, Force = G(Gravity)

Dr RKE's TalePiece

Frank Wilson was sitting in the River Café, at Calgary, quietly sipping his CONSOMMÉ Celestine one afternoon. He cast a sideward GLANCE on the large built man with a well-tanned face and looking RAFFISH in a colourful tie sitting at the next table. That one glance was taken as a licence for the stranger to come over and he shifted to the empty seat opposite Wilson’s. He said “Hi, I’m Philip Tremblay”. Without even waiting to hear Wilson introduce himself, Tremblay said “people say I am a compulsive conversationalist”. Wilson was about to discover that the so-called ‘conversation’ was all one-way.   Tremblay said his PERIPATETIC job (without specifying the details) had made him travel around the GLOBE and he had several tales to tell, all at one time. The windfall he had made one night at a Las Vegas CASINO - his experience of seeing the Halley’s COMET in 1986 in the Arizona desert - his short-lived affair with an INGENUE who was an ACROBAT with the Great Russian Circus - his experience of playing the OBOE in an amateur orchestra - how he learnt the meaning of BUSHIDO while doing business in Kyoto – the BIGOTry of the Englishman he met at Cairo- eating FERRET meat in Jakarta - the STENCH of the Sunda stink badger in Java - one SUPER DUPER tale merging into the other fluidly. And all this before Wilson could finish his bowl of soup!

The rational part of Wilson wanted to call off the meal order and SCRAM from the café but his romantic side was ENAMOURed by Tremblay, that he sat for the best part of an hour, listening to more tales. Of course, the doubt kept crossing his mind “why on EARTH is he telling me - a perfect stranger- all this? What are the ODDS that he is really a salesman or just a cadger looking for a free lunch? Isn’t there an ERRATIC element that I can see in some of his stories?” but these misgivings did not detract Wilson from hosting Tremblay a lunch. ON THE DOT at 2 pm, Tremblay rose abruptly and excused himself and walked away. Two men in uniform spotted him at the entrance to the café and silently marched him to a van. Wilson ran out and just managed to hear one of the uniformed men saying “Philip, the LUCIFER has got into you again. Next time you run away this way, we will have you handcuffed by the police”. The logo on the vehicle read “ANTOINETTE Correctional Facility, Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre, ALBERTA, Canada”.