I want CFLs to work. They have never yet worked as advertised for me,
or many others.

I agree and have commented on this group before. Having seen lots of
cfls at very reduced prices and then discovered they were not as
bright as the previously used 100W pearl I went to TLC and bought a
25W CFL, having failed to find anything at Tesco, Morrisons,
Wilkinsons and B&Q. Even this bulb is barely the same as a 100W and
unfortunately was not the same colour temp as the cheaper CFLs or
Pearl bulbs.

At least they haven't banned Pearls like they have in Australia.

If anyone can provide a link to reasonably priced CFLS of 25 or 30W I
would be grateful.