Hi Dave,
Thanks for your reply. You sound like you know what you are talking about, so I am going to take your advice and pack this thing up.... Some other very helpfull folks have suggested the possibility of rewiring the upper and lower elements in series to allow 220V or simply buying a 2nd and wiring in series, but since my skills dont extend to this type of work, I dont have a choice but to pack her away...sniff.....sniff..... I'm overwhelmed by the support of this newsgroup though, people seem very keen to help. Thanks again.
James.