Thank you for your replies. Unfortunately Long arms in the UK are a ridiculous amount of money. The cheapest I have seen was £8,500 english pounds. That was second hand and way out of my price range. I can get a Janome 1600p, feet and grace queen frame for much much less. I think I may wait for the sure stitch and save up for that at a later date. It is good to know that people have managed to get good results without. If anyone else has any more opinions about this particular set up I would gratefully appreciate the feedback.
Jan x