Thanks for the encouragement MPN11, and from FantomZorbin.
Danny42C, I think we're definitely birds of a feather in more ways than one. I've been reading your early posts with great interest, and you are dquite right - our stories are nearly identical. I liked the kit information you listed. You mentioned something about boots; what I can say sounds silly, but I was issued with a pair of second-hand boots that quickly gave me trouble, and I had to get a doctor's authorisation to have them changed for a new pair.