Stuck on 2. 8d - "Load of rot, good gracious, cutting fish (8). ?l???e?y Thought it might be flummery but can't see how that fits the clue.
12a - "Countess's estate rarely missing leadership without a king (7) e?r?d?? Thought it was "kingdom", but again can't reconcile that with all the clue. "earl" could come from "rarely missing leadership", except that still leaves the "y" unaccounted for. ?? And why countess not count? Puzzled. barrym