Ha ha I told my Arsenal-supporting mates before Christmas that we'd win the league.
(I also said it wouldn't be close, prepared to admit I may have been wrong on that!)

Let out an audible aaah of satisfaction when I found the 10-letter word and finished the puzzle. Lovely stuff!

This is really pleasing to see.
Do you have thoughts on the current U18s? They're a lot of fun to watch and winning most of their games, but I don't know enough to guess how well that will translate to a higher level.

9 clues to get but the shape is clear, wow! 😍

I miss North Pier. We almost chucked my dad’s ashes off the end but decided it was too windy and we’d get covered in him. In the end we put him in Fleetwood dock instead (where he worked).

I thought “epitome” was a completely different word from the one I was hearing as “epitomy”

Yes I did it! The 1 or 2 letters in a cell was a neat way of fitting things in without feeling too forced. And the method of fitting the answers to the grid was cute. So nearly symmetrical as well!

Killing me Softly, The Fugees

Congratulations, don’t let Sisko know you’re taking time off from your day job!

As well as giving me a better appreciation of the art of the setter ❤️

I’ll get there in the end but this conversation demonstrates why I’m a solver not a setter!

Sensible, for example, when I wear brown under hat (7)

Sensible top, thanks India! (7)

I’ve seen that kind of disguise in clues before, but yes it doesn’t seem entirely fair!

Two attorneys general backing crazy lady (4)

Happy to lend an ear if you’re ever in town and want to unload.

Matthew, I’m so sorry. I promise you it gets easier.

The Right Rhymes A Hip-Hop Dictionary

Do you know Matt Kohl? Don’t know if he’s on here but he built www.therightrhymes.com and was a lexicographer to boot!

Haven’t parsed all the clues but celebrating my progress so far with some Elgar 😉

A bit late for that but I will take responsibility for my actions, even 34 years ago 😬

Less of an issue for us as our son was already maybe 14 before smartphones became ubiquitous. We take the piss out of each other if we get distracted by the phone. I always try to be an example of using the phone as a tool and not a companion/source of entertainment.

Now 136. Slightly horrified that my juvenile witterings are available online! 😱

Ah I think I see what it must be. Got stuck on "neck" as an obvious fit for part of it.
That was fun! The emergence of the theme was a nice aha moment.

Done it apart from the middle cell. I have a tentative idea of what to put there. Perhaps if I stick my neck out you might tell me if I’m heading in the right direction…

Solved most of it but with a few items I could make no sense of. Then realised I’d failed to read the second paragraph of the preamble and finally it made sense!

OK, I've not by any means completed this, but got the confrontational strategy and the aptly placed/modified answers (nice!).
Not been able to parse all the clues, and the "unexpected extra" eludes me.
But a fun challenge, you can't win them all!

I wasn’t able to get into it at my first look. I’ll have another stab at it 🤞

The Inquisitor today is a masterpiece!

Did he have a warful wedded life?

Cool! I'm guessing "eventually" means I will need to replace my old gas boiler while we wait.