ISITD, Firstly thanks for your reply and again I agree with what you say, my father actually tried to stop me joining even though as a kid (Aden & Nairobi which was a wonderful time for me) and he himself enjoyed the life.
I know I am probably going to regret this, as these are acronyms I have not heard before (and I am to tired to work them out), but what is TWOT/T*AT, it will probably be obvious when I know.