Hi Duncan
(Thats a good Scottish name!) 8" scope is an excellent instrument, the only thing that some people fall into, is that they expect see things like in books, or long exposure pics, and thats not the case, still and 8" scope will give you years of service, although i think you would be hard put to see much colour in objects, maybe the slightest hint of green in M42, but thats about it.
The best accessory you can have for your scope is your imagination, sometimes things can look small and fuzzy, and rather than thinking "is that it?" its more rewarding to actually think about what your seeing and how far away it is.
good luck on your journey
