No 13048, Wednesday 23 Sep 2020, Gridman

Solution to 17A 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
1   Check top recent list (8) TABULATE {TAB}{U}{LATE}
5   French writer has son going back for shoot (6) SPROUT (+s)SPROU(-s)T
10 Istriwallah a strong personality (4,3) IRON MAN [DD]
11 Aged man strode around, having pocketed pounds (7) OLDSTER {O{L}DSTER*}
12 Proclaims the woman ignored measures (6) OUNCES annOUNCES
13 Society girl back to place a support to the mattress (8) BEDSTEAD {DEB<=}{STEAD}
15 Article is one in a list (4) ITEM [DD]
17 Thieves let gambler send son to the East (10) ?E?U?A?ORS (Addendum - PECULATORS (-s)PECULATOR(+s)S - See comments)
20 By no means early birds (10) LATECOMERS [CD]
22 Hindi people’s old symbol (4) LOGO {LOG}{O}
26 Secure call coming to the point (8) TAPERING {TAPE}{RING}
27 Radio’s gone phut — leave! (3,3) SET OFF {SET}{OFF}
29 Industrialist gets female to iron crisp fabric (7) TAFFETA {TA{F}{FE}TA}

30 Performer discards attires (7) ARTISTE*
31 Offensives where films are shot (6) ONSETS {ON SETS}
32 Dispatch spymaster on the way (8) TRANSMIT {TRANS{M}IT}

DOWN
1   City’s spin over oil spill (7) TRIPOLI {TRIP}{OIL*}
2   Cake for junior girl scout (7) BROWNIE [DD]
3   Ignoring cold, mountaineer is able to move freely (6) LIMBER cLIMBER
4   Smack fly that’s up (4) TANG<=
6   Somewhat pleased about model — where she might be kept on (8) PEDESTAL {PEDES{T}AL*} Semi&lit
7   Moving — thus, one is very active (2,3,2) ON THE GO [DD]
8   Lecture by one in exchanges (7) TIRADES {T{1}RADES}
9   Made rough distribution of volunteer force (4,5) HOME GUARD*
14 Society, say, mad and divided into sections (9) SEGMENTAL {S}{EG}{MENTAL}
16 Star heartily imbibing eastern drink (3) TEA {sT{E}Ar}
18 Make fun of useless newspaper (3) RAG [DD]
19 Saint about dental decay that is most alarming (8) SCARIEST {S{CARIES}T}
20 Ignore bird among building blocks (3,2,2) LET IT GO {LE{TIT}GO}
21 Alerts dandies about one page (7) TIPOFFS {T{1}{P}OFFS}
23 Old pro with large amount to obtain a marsupial (7) OPOSSUM {O}POS{SUM} Anno pending (Addendum - {O}{P}{OS}{SUM} - See comments)

24 Eccentric old females on regular route (7) OFFBEAT {O}{FF}{BEAT}
25 Was very keen, say, to get Greek money (6) LEPTON (~leapt on)

28 Just exhibition (4) FAIR [DD]

Reference List
Top = U, Son = S, Pound = L, Old = O, Female = F, Spymaster = M, Cold = C, Model = T, Society = S, Eastern = E, Saint = ST, Page = P. Pro = P

Dr RKE's TalePiece

The ONSET of summer marked the annual FAIR in our village.  A number of makeshift stalls and tents would SPROUT magically overnight in our school ground. A man would go around the streets in the morning beating a drum on a bullock cart and distribute brightly coloured pamphlets to TRANSMIT information on the salient attractions in the fair that would open at 4pm. This was a RAGtag collection of street ARTISTEs, showmen and peddlers.  We would SET OFF in a bunch to have a gala time, with the coins assiduously saved for months jangling in the pockets of our shorts. The first item on sale would always be the 2 feet wide Delhi Papad, dripping with oil. It had to be washed down with the TANG of a “sherbet”, which was little more than coloured water. The OLDSTERS of course needed their TEA served scalding hot in little mud cups. There was always a turbaned medicine man announcing an OUNCE of his quick-fix potions for everything from headache to piles.

The SCARIEST item was the Hall of Horror with its skull-and-crossbones LOGO.  The black TAFFETA walls, the dim red light, the intermittent puffs of smoke from a hidden machine, the eerie noises all added to the effect and admittance was strictly one at a time. An IRONMAN with a dragon mask would all-on-a-sudden pounce from out of thin air with a blood curdling cry, blandishing a real skull with a red glow between its jaws. Chandru, my friend, had become scared stiff in there and had wet his pants. He put up a brave front on exiting and insisted that it was only spilled sherbet. “True”, we said “indeed it was the sherbet that had passed through your bladder”.

LATECOMERs would miss out on the giant wheel. Now, don’t imagine those huge things in the amusement parks that you see nowadays. This was hardly 15 feet in diameter, but it was ‘giant’ enough for our village. The man who ran the giant wheel could get his power only before the lights were switched on in the grounds and the shops. A retired HOME GUARD from the village, who boasted of having trained with a real gun, gave us TIP(OFF)S on how to shoot dummies at balloons. To his utter dismay, he could not pop even one balloon. Not willing to LET IT GO at that, he let out a TIRADE at the poor quality of the gun, the poor lighting, the poor this and the poor that.   

On returning home, the real ordeal was to TABULATE my spending, tote it up and present it to Dad, famed for his disapproving look, no matter how small the figure. I would make sure I had already run some errands to earn some BROWNIE points with Mummy dear, ever the saviour to bail me out of strident castigation from the martinet dad. This year ON THE GO, I hit upon the OFFBEAT idea of “playing the ‘POSSUM”. I pretended to be fast asleep when my dad came in for the inquisition. As they stood by the BEDSTEAD, I could hear Mummy tell Dad “poor kid, don’t wake him”.