Richard.
Thanks again for your views. As a layman, I general feel compelled to accept mainstream scientific opinion as having the higher probability of being based on the correct theories. Whilst, as a rule of thumb, that turns out to serve me well, history tells us that science has often advanced in dramatic leaps as a result of unconventional, not to say outlandish, approaches to problems. Richard Feynman was among those who have advocated eccentricity in thinking.

"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once" - John Wheeler