I tackled this very late in the week and after a slow start was worried that I might not have it finished before the next Listener, but the theme gradually emerged without too much fretting. I thought it was a very fine puzzle. The theme was superbly implemented (better than "quite neatly" in my opinion) and the clues very enjoyable. Given the constraints that Encota set himself, I didn't mind the above-average number of three-letter entries. The grid is a fine achievement in itself, and far better than many setters manage to create.