How anybody managed to solve anything in Derby is a wonder – I was far too busy nattering. Mine were saved for the train journey home and bedtime relaxation.

I couldn’t find INLAWRY in Chambers and was too lazy to look online, so thank you for the link. For me, RV has yet to become a familiar term, so I couldn’t explain NERVY – again, thanks.

I agree with all the favourite clues mentioned. I particularly liked IRONS – wish Jeremy could have been squeezed in.

There was no story behind the theme. DIAMOND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY was just something I’d been playing around with, trying to find a good cognate anagram for a forum. Nothing came of it, but some of the ideas looked ripe for use in a puzzle.

jmac: U = OK (suitable) for children – of course – how could I miss that – I suspect that was weariness.

KD: I wish I had happy memories of last week – I really should have made more effort to get up there, but, y’know, North of Watford, Dragons etc. etc.
Alcohol and Crosswords: It’s like darts (for me), it takes a pint or two to get the throwing arm/braincells in gear, too much and aim goes entirely (and you can’t get home).

Duggie: You’re so right, that IRONS Clue should be given the recognition it deserves – see edit.

scchua’s YEL[l], LOW RIVER looks promising but the Polly/Gaufrid decode must be the intention – edited.

4D MODULAR: I would certainly assign the “possibly” to the definition part of the clue, else there would be too many anagrinds, and a def. of simply “blocked?” is a little terse. The superfluous “?” is only a minor query.

10A INVADED (“was occupier”): The way I see it, if you were an occupier then you were an invader, but you had invaded.

Anax: No need to be sorry about the YEP/HUB confusion, that’s what crossing letters are for.
I can’t imagine how many of the scant few I’ve written in on today’s grid are actually right (I’ve got to the stage of pencilling in anything that comes to mind in the hope it might spark something in a crossing lght – I read in the news something about Nimrod being decommissioned – looks to me like he’s fighting back.)
Tell me – was there a Diamond Wedding that this grid was celebrating – or was it a wedding involving a diamond geezer?

Absolutely not, Anax! It was just reassuring [and amusing] to find that the first two people I spoke to [Conrad, with whom I shared the train journey] and Peter, who met us off the train, and, subsequently, others, had initially done the same thing. I’d been thinking I’d been getting not too bad at Anax crosswords and when I saw ‘cases’, I thought, ‘I know where this one’s going’ – wrong! [but still right, in a way. ] You’re just still one step ahead!

Anyway, it was lovely to meet you – and, of course, Jayne. Thanks so much for coming.

A bientôt!

I’m glad Polly got in there first with the YELLOW RIVER breakdown; it was quite a tough one (not the greatest set of letters to play with) and I feared it might flummox many.

11a was a funny one. I had absolutely no idea of the possible alternative answer until it was mentioned to me in Derby and for a while toyed with the idea of a future puzzle deliberately having both answers, with identical clues. But I won’t; YEP as an alternative to YES is a word I use often enough and I’m many years beyond being a child. Pity really – it would have been a pleasing little stunt to play but, in retrospect, not a patch on that 9-letter one Alberich/Klingsor did some months ago.

Thank you all for your kind comments as always, but I’ll keep bobbing in occasionally as I’m sure someone will hurl abuse at some point! 11a makes me feel as if I may deserve it.