No. 9473, Friday, 06 Mar 09, Gridman

Did reasonably well today, though quips and quotes are not my cup of tea so I had to Google the answer for Gray's quote somehow managed to correctly guess the Wordsworth quote which I confirmed through Google. (Have added some updates with help from Chaturvasi at the ORKUT community
ACROSS
 1 - U.P. memoir to re-establish bazaar (8) - EMPORIUM* I always thought Emporium is a single shop, how can it be a bazaar which is normally a collection of shops? Comments anyone
 6 - Champions right out of competitions (4) - (-r)ACES
 9 - ”Full many a gem of __ ray serene” (Gray) (6) - PUREST Had to google for this answer
10 - Get to understand serial blasts in the East (7) - REALIS*{E}
13 - In succession as horses might move? (2,3,4) - ON THE TROT [CD]
14 - Hero crossing one step (5) - STA{I}R
15 - Cover nothing in swimming pool! (4) - NUDE Wordplay here is innapropriate if my answer is correct, what has nude got to do with a swimming pool, nobody swims in the nude in a pool yes one may do it in an isolated cove. (Update - Ignore my earlier comments the answer id LID{O})
16 - Kind of talc, maybe, that can be used in many ways (3-7) - ALL PURPOSE [CD] Wordplay I feel is insufficient here
19 - Responds excessively to deliveries — crates broken (10) - {OVER}REACTS*
21 - Mentioned second help (4) - S{AID}
24 - Hid no fittings for old vessel (5) - DHONI* I almost put in THONI which is boat in Malayalam/Tamil till better sense prevailed. This is of Maldivian origin see the link
25 - The oldest issue? (5-4) - FIRST BORN [CD]
26 - Building material in quiet corner (7) - SH{IN}GL{E} Annotation for GL not clear (Update SH{INGLE} Ingle is a fireplace so the quiet corner)
27 - Threaten sprite with termination (6) - IMP{END}
28 - Dangerous position if hot! (4) - STAR [CD]
29 - What a great danger may involve (4,4) - HIGH RISK [CD]
DOWN
 2 - "…and, as I __ up the hill…” (Wordsworth) (7) - MOUNTED Got this with a lucky guess which proved correct
 3 - Key batsman? (6) OPENER [2]
 4 - In Latin, among other things (5,4) - INTER ALIA [CD]
 5 - Setter right about one’s worth (5) - ME{R}IT Setter vs Time?? (Update {ME}R{I}T Me being the setter!)
 7 - U.S. city that was elegant once upon a time? (7) - CHIC{AGO}
 8 - Serving as leader (12) - SPEARHEADING [CD] Wordplay is insufficient here
11 - Declare the strong point about Rex (6) - ASSE{R}T
12 - Furniture old writers may have used for their creative work (7,5) - ROLLTOP DESKS [CD] Insufficient wordplay
17 - Setting off fireworks, darling is dangerously daring (9) - {PET}ARDING * Agreed Petard is a type of bomb or firework, but is petarding a word?
18 - Cockney fish is making a mistake (6) - (-h)ERRING
20 - Account one tore up pertains to amatory literature (7) - EROTICA<- 22 - Is plentiful overall, though limit is at heart (7) - ABOUNDS Annotation not clear (Update - A{BOUND}S)
23 - Good man to pour out in a daze (6) - {ST}UPOR*
25 - New French version of She (5) - {FR}ESH

No. 9472, Thursday, 05 Mar 09, Gridman

Another easy outing today with some nice and interesting clues, I appear to like the style of Gridman, was stuck for a little while on 14D, went for a stroll and returned with 'craft' in mind and voila everything fell into place. Delay in posting on account of the power cuts of Bangalore which have started
ACROSS
 1 -Proverbially, one who was spared the rod? (6, 5) - SPOILT CHILD [CD]
 9 - Lured to cite characters in conclusion (7) - EN{TICE*}D
10 - What V stands for in the high-speed train TGV (7) - VITESSE [CD] I wonder when we will get one of these in India? Lalu has promised us one
11 - Couple of learners about to copy jacket flap (5) - L{APE}L
12 - Close company (9) - NEIGHBOUR
13 - Direction to healthy, large person (5) - W{HALE}
15 - Applicable to military formation that once he led craftily (9) - ECHELONED*
18 - Ruler gets cart back to stay put (9) - {YARD<-}STICK
21 - Setback to back-street cricket matches (5) - TES<-TS
22 - A natty customer may still look for this kind of bargain (4-5) - DIRT CHEAP [CD]
24 - I laze around Professor Higgins’s pupil (5) - ELIZA* From the classic movie 'My Fair Lady'
26 - Industrialist gets fellow to iron crisp fabric (7) - TA{F}{FE}TA I presume the setter is compensating for yesterdays PATTU ;-)
27 - Gathered as a group of fliers did (7) - FLOCKED [2]
28 - Do what a Kamal or Rajini might do (4,3,4) - PLAY THE LEAD [CD] Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth are the film stars indiacted for those who are not clear about the actors of Tamil Cinema popularly known as 'Kollywood'
DOWN
 1 - How a thief may get into the joint he cased? (5,1,3) - STEAL THE WAY [CD]
 2 - Kept in cask, readily available (2,3) - ON TAP [2] Setters seem very fond of this, I think its the third time I am seeeing this in the past few days
 3 - Newspaper section from where you choose your pub? Not exactly! (5,4) - LOCAL NEWS [CD]
 4 - Boorish fellow therefore does not start to provide voice modulation (7) - CAD(-h)ENCE
 5 - In the street audibly denounce (7) - {IN}VEIGH (~way) Though I have heard the word before I was not very sure of its meaning
 6 - Abandon and land in the sea (5) - DITCH [2]
 7 - Amazes fool by swallowing rancid donut (8) - AS{TOUND*}S
 8 - Expensive letter opener? (4) - DEAR [2] A very simple and nice clue
14 - Make known skill pertaining to glider, perhaps (8) - {AIR}CRAFT Sometimes the brain gets stuck o n one track and a little stroll clears the mind, i was stuck on AIRFRAME for some time.
16 - Set fire to Chief without notice, getting any light (9) - {LIT}HE(head-ad)SOME
17 - Separated, moreover, in bed, after most of the team rose (9) - DIS(-e)B{AND)ED Nice word play here
19 - Some like banana flowers in artful arrangement (7) - IKEBANA [T] How simple the Ikebana arrangementa appear
20 - Maintained well, as one might be with proper diet and exercise (4,3) - KEPT FIT [CD]
22 - While writing, they finish some letters! (4) - DATE [CD] (Correction - DOTS)
23 - About to look up an unpleasant fellow (5) - C{REEP<-}
25 Kin unwinds the French linen tape (5) - {INK*}LE New word for me