Well I'm still smiling
but......
2nd trip to my local bmw spares department today.
1st trip was following advice to purchase and replace the salmon relays for the lid controls - cheap preventative maintenance and 10 minute swap over, the original 2010 relays were still in the car but I have to say the looked as new as the replacements except for the date code
2nd trip, yesterday on my journey home from work I get a warning on the dash to replace O/S rear indicator bulb, no problem I'll sort that when I get home I thought. A quick look at the indicator and straight away, thats not good.
Checked the prices last night for a complete rear light unit, could've saved £50 but ended up collecting one on the way home tonight ready for swapping over tomorrow. A cheeky request for a discount saved me £25 but still a very expensive bulb swap over.
The car appears to have been kept in a garage and the change in weather has fogged up both rear light clusters, fingers crossed the N/S one doesn't go the same way and dries out over time.
When I get some spare time I'll try some open lamp surgery and see If I can get it going again, not that I expect to use it, just to prove I can do something if the other side goes pop. I'll have a read-up to see if anybody else has managed it first.
Hopefully the car will be tip-top again for the weekend and some dry roads so I can see how many horses I can realease with my right foot
hopefully Wales will have it cracked soon and re-opened
but has been reborn 
