Times for the Times

My solving time was 10 minutes. Congratulations are in order for yet another 150th Quick Cryptic notched up by a setter, this time by Hurley. Well done, and please keep them coming! Hurley began this run with QC #6 on 17th March 2014. Some old TfTT hands may remember that he was one of the earliest recruits to our team of bloggers, making his debut with the 15x15 on 27th November 2006 and he continued blogging Saturday Jumbos until 2009. Thanks for all the pleasure given.

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A puzzle with enough trickiness to keep you on your toes, I thought. Not difficult, especially in the anagrams department, but with clues such as 6 and 25a, and 15 and 17d that demand the application of the little grey cells. All in all, a nice pick-me-up in a Hong Kong still reeling from the Chinese Communist Party's decision to introduce 'security' legislation for its autonomous region by fiat. 18 minutes-ish.

A prize to anyone who can decipher my fiendishly cryptic heading.

ACROSS

1 Starter that’s Spain to a T, somehow (9)
ANTIPASTO - anagram* of SPAIN TO A T
6 Name of commoner quietly erased by church (5)
CELEB - [p]LEB follows CE
9 The Speaker’s dogged disquisition? (5)
TRACT - sounds like tracked
10 Called into London park with a climber (9)
HYDRANGEA - RANG in HYDE; yes, beside being a shrub (and a tree), a hydrangea is quite the Sherpa Tenzing
11 Die, as one might in a casino? (4,2,4,5)
CASH IN ONES CHIPS - two definitional elements - one subsidiary and whimsical
13 Spooked, began to bury first of loot (8)
STARTLED - L[oot] in STARTED
14 One criticising alternative to Thatcher? (6)
SLATER - ordinary folk slate their roofs; gentrified folk thatch them
16 Content to be a flirt? (2,4)
AT EASE - with different enumeration A TEASE; we had something like this recently
18 Friendliness of retired toff, one in institution (8)
BONHOMIE - NOB reversed I in HOME
21 Writer repeatedly dismissing hesitation in masterful manner (15)
AUTHORITATIVELY - AUTHOR IT[er]ATIVELY
23 Spicy food pioneer cooked, keeping very quiet (9)
PEPPERONI - PP in PIONEER*
25 Hold forth with enough people there, no question (5)
ORATE - [qu]ORATE
26 Dictator’s sinister observation post? (5)
EYRIE - sounds like eerie
27 Budget problem proves Ned wrong (9)
OVERSPEND - PROVES NED*

DOWN

1 Old Greek goat tickling nurses (5)
ATTIC - hidden in goAT TICkling
2 Clear running water outside flowed by spring (11)
TRANSPARENT - RAN (flowed) SPA (spring) in TRENT (running water)
3 Country fan’s simplistic rubbish drawing one in (7)
PATRIOT - PAT (simplistic) I in ROT
4 Big glass boat (8)
SCHOONER - double definition
5 Loads of drawings daughter chucked out (6)
OODLES - [d]OODLES
6 Gamble large choir will sing here (7)
CHANCEL - CHANCE L
7 Bit of lamb maybe setter served up (3)
LEG - GEL reversed
8 Item of clothing I put down in restaurant (9)
BRASSERIE - BRASSIERE with I sent down
12 Meet painter, horribly self-indulgent (11)
INTEMPERATE - MEET PAINTER*
13 Lapps tear apart this fruit (4-5)
STAR-APPLE - LAPPS TEAR*
15 Case that would be haunting under English (8)
VOCATIVE - EVOCATIVE without its 'e', as it were
17 Nothing new in extremes of Sartre’s language (7)
SLOVENE - LOVE N in S[artr]E
19 Contemptible chap in love with States (7)
HEINOUS - HE (chap) IN (in) O (love) US (Uncle Sam, or Brother Jonathan, for horryd's benefit)
20 Escort impressed American, old record being brought up (6)
GIGOLO - GI (impressed American - rather good, to describe a drafted serviceman) reversal of O LOG
22 Area needing new leader to make a profit (5)
YIELD - FIELD with Y for F
24 On reflection, fast talking is normal (3)
PAR - reversal of RAP - one of my pet hates