Thank you HowardB for your well considered word of encouragement, and apologies for the delay in getting back.
I did give that combination an honest try a little while back, and yes it was appealing in a far more attractive way than the (mostly) Ubuntu variations previously tried.
What it did prove to me was that I was locked into several Windoze applications which I needed to perform first up every time without having to either fiddle with settings or learn to do things in a completely new way. Most of these were Amateur Radio programs and this was also the computer which drives the Canon scanner - that didn't look like an adventure I would enjoy.
I think it boils down to the rather cruel fact that one is wired to work either with Linux or with something else. My age probably is an influencing factor here - something about an old dog learning new tricks. As mentioned earlier, I've had to learn quite a few operating systems since I first sat down in from of my very own computer somewhere around 25 years ago. Perhaps NOSF (New Operating System Fatigue) has well and truly set in.
I did set up a new W10 system this morning for long term connection to the WW in an Amateur Radio role. My old Win XP machine still did it all, but .... well ... you know the rest.
So thank you again; clearly for those who both understand and type the language Linux uses, it's an excellent and versatile alternative to those mainstream alternatives.
Long may it be so.
FOR