Well, to relieve my boredom I decided to bid on an Easky sea kayak on eBay.
I set myself a limit of £475, and was in the frame for a while.
The wife's mate came round for a meal and after a glass of wine I suddenly remembered deadline due... a bidding war was on. I eventually got it for £481.28p as opposed to a retail price of £620.
Its 4 yrs old but a better version of the kayak I already have, so having the two opens up a lot more trip possibilities, especially if anyone fancies a lake paddle on Coniston/ Windermere in the future, or even an estuary paddle. I have a few in mind: Ravenglass, Barmouth, and Porthmadog to list a few.

Update: And I am well pleased.

The chap who was selling the kayak also gave me a Lendal Kinetic paddle [very good bit of kit], and a hatch cover too.
Even though the kayak is a precursor of the same model as the one I already own, it was made by P&H,
rather than Venture/Pyranha, with a triple layer hull [as in present Capellas]rather than a single skin, and it is in excellent condition.
Comparing the two models is a bit like the difference between a  BMW 316 and a 325i. If it was a composite kayak, ie glass fibre, it would be an M3.
Some purists may say it is not a 'true' sea kayak as it is only 15' long as opposed to usual 17', a plastic hull,  and not suitable for long open crossings, but it is ideal for my intentions, coastal excursions, rock hopping and hopefully a few overnighters. It's amazing how much gear you can get in them.
Denis, who I bought it off is well into outdoors stuff, he was a BCU instructor once and gets up in the hills too, and has asked me to contact him next time I am off to a meet.
Will post some action pictures soon I hope!

I went out to shop today and called in at the local Eastern Supermarket and this wee burner caught my eye.

As those of you who know me, I'm a keen maker of  alcohol or pepsi can stoves, so I was keen to see how it performed when tested from a different point of view.

These are designed and marketed as 'chafing heaters' ie they keep food warm/simmering when fitted in the right housing, a bit like the thing dumped in front of you with lit tealight candles inside when you go out for a Chinese meal. The most common type is made by Sterno, and contains an alcohol gel, and this is covered in depth by the excellent Zenstoves.net reviews.
However, being curious, I did a few tests and have popped a few pictures up too.

The particular model I bought is called a "Pro Heat' adjustable heat model.  It weighed 270gms on purchase and consists of an aluminium sealed can with a double wick which can be spread for either single or double heat effect. There's a plastic top which is a tight fit and seals the unit well. If it is a similar spec to Sterno, it should last for 2hrs. NB[This unit contains diethylene glycol fuel]

Testing it out with 500ml of tap cold water and an Alpkit Mytimug on a bodged up potrest it took 7.5 mins [in my kitchen] to boil water for tea. Which is 2mins slower  than my turbo model pepsi stove.

Disadvantages are that it blows out more easily than a pepsi stove, so a good windshield is necessary [ isn't it always?], its harder to light, and it smokes a bit when you do blow it out.

BUT it does work, it doesn't smell of meths, its self contained, fits inside a Mytimug, you dont need a fuel bottle, and I bet you could refill it with a large bore syringe from an inkjet refill kit. It is ideal for simmering on a single wick setting, which is hard to do on a pepsi stove.

I did a Google and there are a few catering trade suppliers, and they can be bought in bulk for around 70p

Finally some pics of various Pepsi [well Stella] stoves I have knocked up which will be up for grabs at next meet I can make.