Well folks, I am definitely making some progress.

Having started exploring your answers to the 'how to play' element, I now find myself faced with another hurdle to overcome - WHAT to play - i.e. which notes.

It seems that in most accompaniments to songs, the guitarist(s) aren't salvishly picking out the exact melody, but generally neither are they just picking out the same 'picking pattern' in every bar in different chords.

Also, having been a 'rhythm' style fingerpicker for many many moons now, I find that my fingers have this buring desire to put some note or other in on every 1/8th note, and I'm not certain whether this should be the case, especially if the melody consists of e.g. 1/4 notes, dotted 1/4 notes, half notes etc.

So I gues I've got to do some thinking, and get my head around these angles as well as all the other superb suggestions you folks have made.