All good stuff! Thanks, everyone. Our line staff are good at getting the aircraft in hangars or plugged in with engine and wing covers on. Unfortunately, even they can`t guard against dumb**** pilots landing away and not looking after the aircraft! (ie people like me...)
My own personal favourite for single-engine pistons is: carb heat on just before applying full power for takeoff. Makes it less likely for the engine to cut out when you give full power. Once you have established that the engine is not going to cut out on you, push the carby heat back in.