Ok, just as an interim 'report', Flickr isn't quite doing it for me for this purpose; too fussy. I'm getting all confused with their terminology, so I think I'll leave that one for now.
I'll try and explain my 'workflow' and thinking:
I used Scribus, the open source DTP package, to create pages. These pages consist of many image elements, ie my photographs, and text elements. (As an ex-Compositor, quite a handy package). I can export the entire document as a single PDF and then attach this to my email. This is quite neat but the PDF is large and does involve the recipient waiting for the download. This is still an option.
However, I then discovered that I could export the Scribus pages as individual images, in a variety of formats. These are the images that I refer to. This led me to the 'bright idea' of shoving them on PB and creating a link in my email to a slideshow. 'Click here to see samples of my work' sort of thing.
Irfanview - looks interesting, will have a look. If I were to use it for a speculative work enquiry, I guess that would be for commercial use.
Just wondering, if I accept the limitations of PB I'm unsure of what privacy settings to use. Private but with a password I would have to supply or just stick with public.