first gear woes.....fixed!

[DevonAid]

Wanted to share my recent experiences of sorting a poor gear change, to add to other excellent tips and posts on this forum, which may help others.
Had a steadily deteriorating gear change for a while, so I did change the ball joint at the bottom of the gear lever, but with minimum effect. More recently we pretty much lost first gear completely, making pulling out of junctions and touring the Peak District last month with only second, third and fourth a bit nerve wracking, to say nothing of clutch wear sympathy nerves.
Finally got a chance to look closely and carefully at the linkage, with the better half being a very helpful gear change assistant. Whilst there seemed to be a tiny bit of play in the linkage central UJ and the rear ball joint linkage, it did seem first gear engagement problems were down to the linkage not quite rotating anti-clockwise enough. With the wisdom of 80-90 burning in my ears (be careful, mark the splines and only adjust a little bit), I adjusted the rear part if the linkage 1 spline anti-clockwise. Now got all gears (which is still a novelty) and the better half is happy to drive again.
Overall my findings were a)find the place and time to have a thorough look (us Londoners don't always have the luxury of a garage or drive, so I used the mother in law's drive, pity she is moving soon) b)do one thing at a time, make small adjustments if needed.
Happy gear changing!