The puzzle of Mat - Mat loved a puzzle, so see if you can work him out!

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Across
  1. 5. the loves of his life (3, 3, 4)
  2. 6. the only thing I’ve ever known Mat to be unable to eat!! (5, 6, 5)
  3. 8. Mat’s favourite dining experience (3, 3, 3)
  4. 9. Finland, finland, finland, the country where I want to be (5, 6)
  5. 14. his most notable item of clothing (5, 4)
  6. 15. Mat would never be without one or more of these in his pocket (9)
  7. 18. Hello Dave! (6, 2, 9)
  8. 21. one of Mat’s more exotic dining experiences, it was a crunchy but didn’t “bug” him much (6, 5)
  9. 23. type of goat which gave Mat the slip and he ended up chasing it down the lane and rugby tackling it (5)
  10. 29. something you do to presents. Mat was supremely good at it (8)
  11. 30. a bathfull of these creatures overnight made a dreadful noise (11)
  12. 31. we tried out various of these and only got a few stuck in gutters and narrowly missed an old lady after Mat souped one up with hair shampoo (7)
  13. 32. a landmark of the Metaswitch office, covered in damson gin, lego and dead parrots (5, 4)
  14. 35. he had a range of this toy but thankfully didn’t need a licence (6, 7, 3)
  15. 36. you wouldn’t often see Mat without one of these slung around his neck. Kept smuggling in new models and hoping Hels wouldn’t notice! (6)
  16. 37. Mat owned 3 of this musical instrument, one brought back from Australia and one he made out of plumbers pipe (10)
  17. 39. He definitely “kneaded” a lot of flour for this one and the “yeast” of his concerns was tidying up after this food treat (5)
  18. 40. only one had a puncture and bottomed out in Hartham river (5)
  19. 42. superb cake he made for Hels bday, inspired by our kitten acquisition (6, 4, 4)
  20. 43. we were making omlettes for days (7, 3)
  21. 44. Cambridge college Mat attended (5, 7)
  22. 45. possibly the most revolting concoction ever made using a vegetable and a pair of tights (6, 3)
Down
  1. 1. single malts were the favourite (6)
  2. 2. affectionately known as Pinchy, Hels brought him home from Borough market and we spent the day expecting him to escape out the back door (6, 4)
  3. 3. George Formby had nothing on Mat and his electric version (7)
  4. 4. something Mat was inordinately good at throughout his life and could do very quickly. Famed for it at uni, only Jack could rival him when an ice cream was involved (6)
  5. 7. many a visit here after halls in Cambridge (6, 3)
  6. 10. this holiday destination had just been bombed – no wonder we got a cheap deal! (5)
  7. 11. Mat's favourite outdoor wind-powered “toy” (5, 4)
  8. 12. Mat’s very useful part-time job at Uni (6)
  9. 13. he did like a queen (5)
  10. 16. the holiday of the infamous party (9)
  11. 17. got stuck in a very tall tree at a posh country hotel and he had to go ask for it back (10)
  12. 19. BBC young musician finalist playing this (5)
  13. 20. Mat was lucky enough to sample the private areas of this prickly delicacy (3, 6)
  14. 22. only a small uprising and coup d'état in the neighbouring country on this trip (9, 8)
  15. 24. you'd usually find Mat under a pile of these (4)
  16. 25. Only months old and Sam was already beaing taught this card game with his fluffy friends and a few bottles of whisky (5)
  17. 26. Mat spent years perfecting these and takes after his Mum. Sunday dinner won’t be the same without them (9, 8)
  18. 27. one of our favourite bands to hear with Michelle (5, 3)
  19. 28. One of Mat’s favourite hobbies and got both his boys going aged 2 (7)
  20. 33. the place we slept through the largest powercut Europe had ever had (5)
  21. 34. it wasn’t a dating service! (14)
  22. 38. a hobby he was hopeless at regardless of how many years he tried and lessons he took. Think Bambi. (7)
  23. 41. the only cycle he owned which he couldn’t ride (8)