What do I find but some computer in Canada bashing away at the webservers ftp. So, after blocking the address (thank goodness I installed TCPWrappers a few years back) from access I then had to check the logs to ensure they hadn't gotten in (I was sure they hadn't but best to be safe).
One extraction of the various parts of the logs and an email sent to the relevant ISP's abuse email I can now consider a cup of tea and starting what I wanted to. I don't expect much to come from the email but at least I'm trying and I did actually get an auto response email from that ISP so that at least is one thing more than normal.
Okay, time to find a cup of tea and then to change the pollen trap - then maybe I'll be able to start the work I'd hoped to do.