thanks to brian and mr. noisy for the other two posts above as well...
i don't actually have a 22mm or 24mm spanner or socket! lol, i do have the wheel brace though... and presumably with the horn and airbag fuses removed and the airbag remove, i can still drive the car to halfords to buy a socket of that size, right?
As for the screwdriver earthing the horn contact, even if i just touch it and apply no pressure whatsoever it makes the horn sound! if it was that sensitive you'd think a jolt in the road would set it off! could the magnetic screwdriver be inducing a current and kinda earthing it without actually earthing it, if you know what i mean? i'm not soo bothered about this - i'll just take the fuse out - it's interesting though.
thanks to you, brian, as well for the offer of time and garage space
as mentioned though, it's hard to bring a list of problems with me because as soon as i fix one i notice another... i've not had multiple ones at once yet (until now, but one is potentially major!).
Also, if i crack out the tools, get half way through and need advice, there's no guarantee the advice will come in fast enough, and i could be stuck on my drive unable to get to work again, depending on when i ask for the advice, so i have to be careful...
i have enough of a plan in my head about the steering wheel now anyway, so as long as i can drive the car with no airbag fuse, no horn fuse and no airbag, i should be fine...