yep the universal joint at the bottom, I have found no info on the internet or in the Haynes manual about changing the joint, so had a sneaky suspicion that it was a column out job, but I will get the car up on the ramps and have a closer look to see if it is poss to remove whilst still in the car.
as I said the car was bought for my daughter who is not 17 till august so no rush to get it changed just yet.