[Steve_Ray]

I am not aware of any W-97 sorting issues, although I have experienced
bizarre sorting results in long tables. It could be a memory thing, or it
could be caused by table length.

Thanks for your follow-up. Under the circumstances (and since I have not
received other replies suggesting other possible explanations) I think it
must in fact be that -- i.e., "bizarre sorting results in long tables".

Given that the sort works okay on the first part of the table (i.e., the
earliest chronological records) and then seems to lose its way and from that
point on sorts incorrectly, it's hard to imagine what else it could be.