Financial Times 14,025 by Gaff

This certainly gave me the run around – all over the place – very clever

ACROSS

8 CAULKING stuffing (boat) CAUL hood KING royal

9 JAPAN CEDAR tree D moved in DANCE afte AP a quiet, all in JAR shake

11 ISOMETRY equal measure, writer I few SOME  go TRY

12 LAUNCH AREA take off space (EACH NATURAL)*

14 ANTE hidden in [w]ANTE[d]

19 PANOPLY wide range , an operation ANOP in PLY press

27 AS SICK AS (A) PARROT dejected ((A) PARK AT A SCISSOR)*

29 FEEBLE hidden in [cof]FEE BLE[nd]

30 HIGH AND LOW air – song The Bonnie Banks o Loch Lomond

31 EATS INTO erodes, line RY off  (STATIONE)*

DOWN

1 DATABASE store Spooner BAIT A DACE

2 SLOVENIA state, passion LOVE in (IS AN)*

3 I JUST HIT IT (AND) THERE IT WAS (IN THE) BACK OF THE NET

cryptic definition

4 A PRIORI without experience, officer PRIOR in AI best

6 NEVER A PENALTY after IT WAS (EVEN PLANETARY)*

13 A GAME OF TWO HALVES football AGA (king) ME (I) OFT (frequently) HA[d] in WOLVES (side of Birmingham)

15 NIP squeeze PIN<

17 PUB cryptic definition

18 NICELY well NIC (National Insurance Contribution) ELY city

21 LEAFLETS dd

22 TENSILE of stress (STEEL IN)*

24 ABSEIL go down the line LIES BA[ck]<

25 KNIGHT chess G in THINK<

( )* = anagram    [ ] = omit    dd = double definition    < = reverse