You folks are amazing!
Eileen, I've just had an hour on the torch and have made 8 beads which, whilst nowhere near perfect, I'm not ashamed of. That's down to the advice you gave on slowing down, taking the bead out of the flame and letting it do its thing. I've been trying to force the glass to do what I want it to by keeping it too hot all the time.
Thank you so much!