Hi Rob,
After a recent visit to a local Waterstones to buy a book (what else!) I stumbled across the aviation section which to my delight stocked the full range of Trevor Thom books. I don't actually need any but nonetheless its nice to see them being sold in a high street shop.
Personally I'd recommend buying bit by bit. The mail order companies stock most items and are normally delivered to your door within one or two days max even on the cheapest delivery option.
If you are going to go commercial then you'd probably be better off getting the CRP-5 as that has a few additional functions that aren't present on CRP-1. The CRP-5 is also bigger and therefore easier to read than its smaller cousin.
When I started I bought a normal ruler and protractor. Now I use a ruler with a rotating protractor attached to it. So much quicker for flight planning on the chart.
Kneeboards... A4 are great for IFR and long VFR cross countries. I use one of these for flying in the Warrior etc. But for bimbling around the local area or even cross countries in the Pup I use the folding A5 kneeboard. The A4 one gets in the way of the stick when the board is flat on my lap... the A5 one is perfect and has a band which you put around your leg to stop it falling off when doing aerobatics or tossed around in turbulence...
The packs are pretty good value for money but the logbook will probably be redundant until you fill your first one up, the CRP-1 may need to be upgraded, the chart maybe out of date when you use it (as someone else has already mentioned). But it does come with a nifty bag which will hold all of your equipment bits and bobs in.
One thing I would seriously recommend you buy though is your own headset. Try a few out first and see which one you prefer. Having your own with nice cloth ear covers to protect the seals sticking to your head does wonders for the concentration level that you can obtain in the aeroplane.
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.