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CD, I confused myself and got into a mess when discussing this before, but as far as I can see the spare letters of the second set are in the correct order, according to the version Smithsax refers to and the reference I gave earlier. I think there is some misleading information on the subject out there, and the one negative of this puzzle (if indeed it is a negative) is the difficulty of finding an authoritative source.

I've twice decided to scrap replies to your post, candledave - I think they both gave too much away (but I might risk the later, shorter one if necessary). However, this might help clarify the issue -
From what you say it looks like we're both using the same sequence but I'd put the spare letter from the 4th clue (the 2nd letter in the unjumbled word) in the position it comes in clue order - 4th - so that the number that it is associated with - 2 - is in the right place in the numerical sequence.

Appreciate you trying drxx but I remain confused but will leave it there as I’m clearly missing something obvious.

Thanks again

Candledave, there are two different ways to arrive at the sequence - either letter # in clue order, or clue # in letter order. The two approaches give the same result in 5 of the 6 sets, but in the 2nd set only one seems to be correct.

Thanks splinters - that clarifies it; I was stuck in only looking at it one way.

Well, it was a lovely puzzle but I do have a loose end that I need to tie up. How many cells are "affected" (as per the preamble) in the final grid? Is it 10 or a greater number? I am wondering whether the initial version of the instruction "affects" some other cells that I haven't spotted yet...

kitsune .. I’ve shaded 10 cells and squeezed two letters into another cell .. that’s it ..

I think I've got there but I couldn't find anything on t'internet with a definitive list of the orders - has anyone got a link? I could only squeeze the extra letter into 2 cells and one looked unlikely so I'm fairly confident it's the one near the middle. But no idea what the extra order is (does it begin with a?).

Other than that only loose end is parsing for 7. I have some Indian pots but can't see the wordplay.

Thanks

SH, I found a link which seems to be definitive - the URL gives too much away in the URL, but try googling: Michael Anthony Williams call collection. Looks like you're on the right track with the extra order.

7 is 3-letter word for chary, A for about and 4-letter word for cost minus last letter, all reversed. Phew!

Thanks Loge. All makes sense, and confirms my other orders, apart from the second set of 6 clues doesn't match the order given here, which is a bit odd.

Now back to trying to guess what Poat was thinking when he wrote the nonsensical deletion instructions last week......