Well I think we might have sussed the handbrake.............still not wonderful but at least it's now operational, I have it adjusted so it's just ever so slightly binding to hopefully rebed the shoes into the drums & I'll run it like that for a bit & then readjust it all, the compensator is fine & the cables nice & free but we discovered a lip on the shoes which I suspect was causing my problems, never really noticed on Sunday but by that time I was cold, tired & up to my bristols in muck so probably wasn't thinking straight