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Yes, greengage, L-R and down then you cover all the cells in the grid.

Thanks muraria, I'll give that a go.

I am awaiting a white van to arrive!!! On the basis abaaaaaaacdee components sum to 144, 8a = 144 -bcdee, and that doesn't work!!

Gitto... Have you considered the 12 cells that you need to find occupy some of the 144. This might mean the components only need to sum to 132

Gitto, you’re missing one key point. The message spelt by the ten pairs of letters is specific, notably the first word. Imagine 12 telegraph poles in a street. If neither was at the end, there would be 13 spaces and 12 poles in the street. The sum of 144 therefore includes the 12 cells as well

I waited until I had finished before commenting on this puzzle. I think it is absolutely fair although the rubric takes a while to master - though you can actually carry it out in steps. The clueing is very accurate.

I suppose the only issue is how you interpret the final comment about 'the rest of the grid'. However, any discussion about that is likely to reveal more than is appropriate, so I will say nothing about it.

A great construction, Gnomish - it must have taken a long time to compile.

quisling, I have ce, is that right?

quisling, I have "c" less than "e" but it must be the other way around?

Yes, the other way round

Your values need to satisfy the equation 8a + b + c + d + 2e + 12 = 144, which is another way of expressing the preamble (in arithmetic terms)