TheBear69,
Yes, ‘unfair’ was too harsh an accusation, but I don’t altogether agree that 43 is a great clue, the weakness being in the preposition; an alternative preposition or prepositional phrase, in my opinion, would have improved it and, incidentally, would have avoided an ambiguity.
Re your comments on the non-wordplay letters, you may be referring to the fact that in three clues it’s impossible to determine which of two letters is thematic if one hasn’t already latched onto the theme; this adds another veil in the way of solvers who are struggling to get the theme. I think all three should have been clued unambiguously, like 37, especially as the message, which does lead to a thematic feature, is dependent on the placings.
But I don’t want my criticisms to obscure the fact that it’s an excellent puzzle with plenty of thematic material and a final adjustment that is perfectly logical. My slowness in getting the final bit was due to the fact that I was looking for something that wasn’t there.