Oh Guest Gilly, I am still laughing, many hours after your post.

As it happens I do have a second guitar that could be "sacrificed" to the evil one (DADGAD ?) but I thank you Nick for your info. Age - ed or not I'll give it a go :-) I prefer to be instructed, you see, as my musical abilities would not run to "composition", even of chords, I'm afraid :-)
Thanks everybody who posted, it is encouraging.