Times 25387 - An excellent end to the week.

Solving time: 47:53 - Held up a bit by having a wrong answer at 23.

I don't know who the compiler is here, but I find it very reminiscent of the sort of puzzle that Sunday solvers are used to expecting from Dean Mayer. Regular readers of my Sunday blog will appreciate the compliment implicit in that.

There was a lot of beautifully crafted wordplay here and I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, I completely forgot it was my turn to blog today, until I was about to go to bed after watching a late night movie. So I had to solve this when I was quite tired which was a shame as I would have much preferred to give a puzzle of this quality my full attention.

It's very difficult to pick out a COD as there are so many contenders. I think I'll give to 1a for setting the scene so nicely for what was to follow. But 7, 15, 20 & 22 were all good, as indeed were pretty much all the others. My congratulations to the setter.

cd = cryptic def., dd = double def., rev = reversal, homophones are written in quotes, anagrams as (--)*, and removals like this

Across
1	LITTLE SLAM = mesSiah in LITTLE LAMb - I thought 'Mary's possession' for LITTLE LAMB was brilliant. Little Slam (or Small Slam) is a bridge term whereby the declarer has to get 12 of the 13 available tricks. A Grand Slam requires all 13.
6	Sickly + WIG - A bit of Cockney Rhyming Slang.
9	CHAIN STORE = AIN'T about S all in CHORE
10	LEAN - dd - Sir David Lean was the film director
12	T(AIL)END + CHARLIE
14	GO + E + THE
15	GLIBNESS = (BLESSING)* - a beautifully disguised anagram
17	REP + EATER
19	ENIGMA = GIN (trap) in ME (this person) all rev + A
22	VLAD THE IMPALER = (PRIVATE HELL + MAD)* - another excellently constructed anagram
24	TOKE - hidden
25	FLEA-BITTEN - dd
26	DATA = A TAD rev
27	PENTAGONAL = (PANTs + ON A LEG)*
Down
1	LOCO - dd
2	TEA CAKE = CAd in TEAK + swEet
3	LONELY HEARTS - dd
4	S + A + TINY
5	Anaesthetic Greatly Regretted Inebriates + COLA - I liked the separation required in 'General anaesthetic' - Agricola was a famous Roman General, of course
7	WHEELIE = WEE (short) + LIE (story) about Houdini
8	GINGER SNAP = (GREASING + PaN)*
11	CAR(BOND + AT)ING
13	AGGRAVATED = AGATE about GRAVe + D
16	REVEILLE = EVER rev + ILL + E
18	P(LACK)ET - Not a word I knew, but it was quite gettable just from the wordplay
20	GREATEN = hAT dressed in GREEN
21	UMLAUT - cd
23	A + NIL - I had TEAL for ages, and it took me a long time to convince myself that it had to be wrong. Anil is a word I'm only vaguely familiar with.