I use computer monitor cleaning spray if I buy a lens which is really grubby, it doesn't seem to harm the coatings. I've also used glasses cleaning spray although that stuff is a bit expensive.

The main thing is to make sure that the cloth you use isn't abrasive and has no dust or grit on it. I tend to use a fresh cotton bud for wet cleaning of lenses then follow up with the lens pen to polish off any watermarks left by the fluid.

I doubt I'd use the same cloth for glasses and lenses though - have you seen the state your glasses get into after wearing them while cooking with a frying pan?

There are large numbers of new sub-£100 Pentax 50-200mm zooms on ebay (presumably split from kits) but I'd be more inclined to look for something a bit longer, like the 55-300mm.

It can usually be cleaned, at least in my experience of a few M and A series lenses with it the glass wasn't permanently damaged. I was charged £40 for a strip, clean and rebuild of a 200mm prime which I considered a very fair price, although I've cleaned cheaper or more common lenses (a brace of 50mm primes) myself as the fungus was easy to get at. Standard vinegar on a cotton bud is a pretty effective means of killing it off without damaging the glass.

If he has an ebay account his wallet will soon start to cry...

There aren't as many bargains around as there were, but you do occasionally see them. Like what appeared to be a near mint 2nd version M 28mm f2.8 for £30 two days ago!

Yes, I know, you're probably wondering why I bought that given that I'm always raving about the f3.5 version. Thing is, the f3.5 tends to stay on the K-m as a walkabout lens, and I don't want to have to remove it in what are frequently dusty environments in order to use a wide angle prime on a film body. Buying two identical lenses seemed a bit silly so when I spotted the cheap f2.8 I pounced on it.

I think I'm right, mind you knowing my luck there are transition models out there with a mixture of features that I haven't seen yet!

The final type with the plastic parts don't seem to be as common judging by ebay listings. I just wish I knew why they dropped the DoF preview and self timer from the KM as I can't believe the K1000 was much cheaper.

There are slight differences between the first and second types:

The first ones have "Asahi Optical Co. Made In Japan" stamped on the back of the top plate, the serial number on the top plate and the little lump to the right of the rewind crank (where the KX has the battery test button).

The second ones just have "Asahi Optical Co." on the back, the serial is stamped on the baseplate and the lump has gone.

I have one of the second type and I keep my eyes open for a cheap but tidy example of the first one. I've seen them for as little as £20 before now but didn't move fast enough!

Fungus isn't generally terminal, I've had a few lenses with it now and it doesn't seem to damage the coatings. The trick is to make sure you get all of it and don't let too much dust in while the lens is open. I was willing to open and clean a brace of cheap 50mm "spares or repair" lenses which came up pretty much mint, but I entrusted my 200mm prime to a professional as it was a bit too expensive to risk wrecking it with my attempts!

The 50mm is also a lot simpler to work on - the fungus was nearly always on the front element of the rear group, so I simply unscrewed the front group, cleaned the fungus off with a cotton bud dipped in vinegar, polished it dry with another bud and then reassembled.

You could always look in somewhere like "GO! Outdoors" and see if they do a generic backpack raincover that will suit your needs? Providing that it's waterproof and a good close fit (as opposed to "universal fit" where you always end up with swathes of loose fabric) it should be fine

I found a digital photo frame recently which doubles as a TV and can play video/mp3 files. Cost £50 from Asda's website which I thought a pretty good deal!

I've been to Milton Keynes a couple of times now. The jokes are, frankly, sheer snobbery by London comedians.

It's actually a very pleasant town (at least, the bits I saw). The planners evidently realised that pedestrians, cyclists and motor traffic have different needs and designed the town to suit, as opposed to the current fad for making life as difficult as possible for car owners by forcing everyone to share the same space. So you have flowing roads without "traffic calming", with pavements set back behind a grass verge and trees to give everyone space. Crossings are usually underpasses so you never need to wait for the lights to change to cross the road.