Well, I tried CA's recipe from the Saffron for the base gravy on Friday, and it is so much easier and less smelly than Par Chapman's version in the book I have, and it actually came out as it was described. I always ended up with a tasty but bitter mixture before. So, well impressed. I have it in portions in the freezer now :-)
Then I was into trying the spiced oil when SWMBO popped her head round the door and said, "ooh, are you making a curry?"  and so I had to decide fast .... dhansak for a first go.I was a bit pushed for time (as with all new recipes it always takes much longer than you think) but also using CA's recipes (more-or less)  it produced what must have been the best one I've ever made.  Not quite prefect, but I hardly expected that. It had more than a hint of that undefinable curryhouse flavour. So all in all more than just a success!    
Looking forward to the next try.

Someone on a UK newsgroup pointed me to this place, and all I can say is "overwhelming".

I'm an ex-pat Brit, living in Austria since 1991 and started making my own curies here then as there were no restaurants available (meanwhile there are a few), and I had a a hard time even getting basic spices. I had a 2-hour each-way train journey to Vienna to get some. Again, now it's dead easy to get most things.

I started with A Taste Of India, from which I have a few favourite recipes, and then tried one of the Curry Club's books. Most recipes I tried were a tad underwhelming.  And over time I have stopped using it.
Anyway, there is so much information here that I really don't know where to start. But the enthusiasm is back, and it's time to knock up a batch of curry gravy this afternoon, then we'll see what to make with it. I'll start with SnS's base from the Saffron restaurant and next on the list is the 2-mother sauce mix from Curry King, which is intriguing.

So a big thanks to all here, esp. the Admins for providing such an enormous mine of information!

Cheers,
Tim.