Thanks for all the brilliant advice, finally took the plunge and after a visit to Calumet in Belfast have ordered a Nikon D90 with 18-105mm lense. After having a feel of a few different makes (Canon, Olympus etc) i decided on the Nikon so am now waiting impatiently until they get some in (out of stock when i went up

). Price was good i think at £789 for package and their discounted memory cards gave me change out of £800 so now i will be saving for the next lens i guess. However i think it will take me a while to get to grips what what i have ordered so i am in no hurry at the moment to buy any other equipment. This means that i will probably be on here asking really dumb questions instead!! Thanks again for all your advice can't wait to get going!