Ahhh.. since posting here I have been delving into the intricasies of Apeture....

There is actually an "Open With External Editor" option under the Images drop down menu. Photoshop, or any external editor can be set as the default.  You can then work on this file and a copy is saved as a psd. The original RAW file is left untouched. The psd file is saved with the origial in the Apeture album.  Pretty seamless, pretty cool.

Yes Lightroom is here.. at last. But its version 1.00  Did I not read that Lightroom is built on someone else's technology,  hence some speed issues?  Anyway, I watch eith interest as the two programmes emerge....

Stefi xxx