I can borrow an ethernet cable from somebody, I've thought about that-thing is this house (as I've mentioned before but you may not have read) is only half-wired up so you can imagine there's a tonne of wires dangling about already, so I'm reluctant to do that if I don't have to.
Thank you for the tips ! As soon as I've finished what I'm doing I'll give the 'Old Chestnut' a go and see what happens, although I seem to remember that's said to work only when wireless isn't working, rather than when it's not showing up whatsoever. Thanks again