I could very easily copy and paste my preamble from a fortnight ago and simply change the ‘four weeks’ in the second paragraph to ‘six weeks’.
Across
1 Actual tact not using force (2,4)
IN ESSE – [f]INESSE (tact not using force)
5 Music mixed with bass involved in artistic movement (6)
CUBISM – an anagram (mixed) of MUSIC around (with … involved) B (bass)
9 Unrivalled drama and power in revolutionary story published (9)
NONPAREIL – NO (drama) plus P (power) in LIE (story) RAN (published) reversed (revolutionary)
12 Dubious behaviour outside den has damaged awnings (9)
SUNSHADES – SUS (dubious behaviour) around (outside) an anagram (damaged) of DEN HAS
13 Curse pipe, hot (4)
OATH – OAT (pipe) H (hot)
14 Vineyard, quiet ruin (5)
CRUSH – CRU (vineyard) SH (quiet)
15 Calling about piece of news going round (6)
METIER – RE (about) ITEM (piece of news) reversed (going round)
17 Look to follow medley involving current chart artist (12)
MICHELANGELO – LO (look) after (to follow) MELANGE (medley) around (involving) I (current) CH (chart)
19 Settled union wrongly ignored (10-2)
UNLISTENED-TO – an anagram (wrongly) of SETTLED UNION
22 Opera’s old order over (6)
OTELLO – O (old) TELL (order) O (over)
24 Oil in desert coming back after a time (5)
ATTAR – RAT (desert) reversed (coming back) after A T (a time)
26 Swerve and struggle before parking (4)
WARP – WAR (struggle) P (parking)
27 Medium in weird plot, I bet, confined demon (6-3)
BOTTLE-IMP – M (medium) in an anagram (weird) of PLOT I BET
28 Refrain from worry, active in Italian city (9)
TURNAGAIN – NAG (worry) A (active) in TURIN (Italian city)
29 Departure from script’s initial material rejected (6)
EGRESS – S[cript] (script’s initial) SERGE (material) reversed (rejected)
30 Obsessive artist in a corner missing nothing (6)
ANORAK – RA (artist) in A NO[o]K (a corner missing nothing)
Down
1 Impossible to exchange revenue, endlessly cross about cost (12)
INCOMMUTABLE – INCOM[e] (revenue, endlessly) MULE (cross) around (about) TAB (cost)
2 Growing out in garden, a teasel (5)
ENATE – hidden in (in) ‘gardEN A TEasel’
3 Most impertinent treatment of suitcase (8)
SAUCIEST – an anagram of (treatment of) SUITCASE
4 Eagle found in Spain and even parts of France (4)
ERNE – E (Spain) [f]R[a]N[c]E (even parts of France)
5 Scheme over in California making American pause (6)
CESURA – RUSE (scheme) reversed (over) in CA (California)
6 Roar former PM heard (5)
BLARE – a homophone (heard) of ‘Blair’ (former PM)
7 Encouraged during failure to accept church (7)
INDUCED – IN (during) DUD (failure) around (to accept) CE (church)
8 Face marsupial with fur retaining soft, dusky colour (8,4)
MUSHROOM PINK – MUSH (face) ROO (marsupial) MINK (fur) around (retaining) P (soft)
10 Poor style, dour and rambling (9)
DESULTORY – an anagram (poor) of STYLE DOUR
11 Escape in sports car working? It’s a piece of cake (9)
LAMINGTON – LAM (escape) IN GT (sports car) ON (working)
16 Appetite of botanist, no learner, to go round Madagascar (5,3)
INNER MAN – [l]INNEAN (of botanist, no learner) around (to go round) RM (Madagascar)
18 Confusion about large total (7)
CLUTTER – C (about) L (large) UTTER (total)
20 Drunkards in short nearly broken by work (6)
TOPERS – TERS[e] (short nearly) around (broken by) OP (work)
21 Dull / kind of mask (5)
MATTE – double def.
23 Note river filled with a stream of mud (5)
LAHAR – LAH (note) R (river) around (filled with) A
25 Fine cloth not available? Sleuth is on it (4)
PINA – PI (sleuth) NA (not available)
Again I must reluctantly concur.
Despite what Beelzebub said in a recent comment, the degree of difficulty for this puzzle is supposed to be deliberately set above the norm.
And latterly it just hasn’t been. Pleasant enough but that is all.
Perhaps Eimi would at least confirm that there has not been a deliberate policy change.
I would also like to hear from some of the (admittedly very few) solvers who contribute posts here
Eimi hasn’t done much other than point out to me that I’ve missed a letter in an anagram recently. I’d note that Gaufrid has actually covered both of us in his last two posts. This was at the easier end of “the other one’s” range but it took me about the same time as that day’s Azed so it struck me as in the right ball-park.
Today’s is “this one’s” 666th Beelzebub though sadly I only realised that when I came to update my records the other day.
Because of a holiday, this was my first Beelzebub in three weeks. I do’t think I completed it quite as fast as the one before I went on holiday, but it couldn’t have been much more than an hour.
Perhaps we are getting too used to the way the setters’ minds think. 🙂
As it happens, I do tend to find Beelzebub easier than the daily cryptic. I think this is because the extra checked letters in a barred crossword make it easier to fill in the banks. The compensation is the mix of strange and new words.
Haven’t looked at today’s yet.