Have finally made contact with Solentflight who are even more peeved at not being able to pursue their legit business at Lee on Solent than I was by not being able to locate them. They are hoping to be back at Lee in the near future on a sound and permanent basis and I joint in their desire that it happens quickly.
As is often the case on PPRuNe, my original simple enquiry has spawned some interesting and divergent views, ah the richness of the span of aspirations and intentions one sees across these forums

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Thanks for all the help and the contact details and for the time being at least .. from my point of view .. it's subject closed.
DGG