I really don't enjoy Paul McKenna's puzzles and if I wasn't committed to blogging elsewhere I would give him a miss.
We expect difficult words/clueing at this level but some of the stuff was just downright obscure.
I no longer do the Mephisto. I used to really enjoy it until I realised I was paying £2.20 per week for the privilege of doing so, the other ton and a half of newsprint going straight into the bin.
I also struggled for hours with this one today - not least because the word I originally placed in 5d (Court once up over Listerine's first antiseptic) was Elcon (anag. of once + L, and also an antiseptic).