Thanks for the suggestions Eric and Jen. I had a go aligning the finder with the moon yesterday (before dark) and then tried again at night. I used the finder to point at the moon and it was in the scope view (at least with the 25mm eyepiece)!!. And I also tried to find beta Crux and the jewel box, and managed that after a few attempts too (so I'm not sure if it was skill or luck
). I still think the red spots are too bright and it's hard to see the star you're aiming for, but maybe I just need to get used to it. There was lots of cloud flying past last night as well, which didn't help. I was hoping to try and find Saturn as you suggested Eric, but that part of the sky was covered in solid cloud all night
So I'll just persist I think, and see how it goes before buying any more kit.
John.