I’ve been directed to this site to see how to do a better finish off for my socks so that the toe is smoother.  It’s called “kitchener stitch” and is one of those “must lern it some time cos it’s supposed to be good” things that I tend to not get round to!  The instructions adn vid are really easy to follow so I suspect I’m going to give it a go.  THere are also stacks of other vids though that also look to be useful for other bits of clever knitting.