Quick update - been out at lunch time to the local motor factors (who were very good by the way - BBC in Burnley) and got a replacement type 017 battery. Car now starts alot better and cranks like a good-un - 2 questions arise though:
1. what are the other smaller wires on the positive terminal for? The ends of them are looking alittle corroded and I wanted to replace the ends

2. Does losing power have any lasting effects on the car? Does anything need a reset - tell you why: The shifting seems to have forgotten my lazy driving style and shifts quicker when needed - bonus and I know that the Gearbox ECU can get reset by powering off - But the when I come to some lights, or stop, the engine idle seems to dip right down, to the point of near stall (red lights flicker) - Does the Engine ECU suffer or does something else need a reset?
And the other thing I noticed was that the one touch windows on the front stopped working, like they had forgotten that feature exists, and then once up and down all the way manually, started working again. Odd.
Other thing that surprised me (same as someone else posted once) is that the radio didn't need a code, it was fine, even though the power was off for 10 mins or so.

Anyone got any input on any of the above appreciated.