Too right to the impatient bit. I get an idea in my head, and just won't let it go. Thank you for your input, I appreciate it. I don't know if I speak for other newbies to Orchids, but I have found that there is a lot of information out there, it can be very confusing and sometimes contradictory. After trying to understand the concepts of lighting requirements, I began to panic that I was doing completely the wrong thing. I also don't yet fully understand my limits or the limits of my conditions.
I know that I am not going to be breeding orchids, or hybridizing them and I am unlikely to start collecting a huge range of species orchids with more specific requirements. Nor will it be likely that I go for many more of the high light orchids. For me, it has helped that I now know that at 1pm on a sunny day the plants on my bathroom window were actually getting 2000 fcs which surprised me, although not for more than a couple of hours in total. I have gone from reasonably happy, to total panic that the room was too dark, back to thinking that they could require a bit more consistent light for longer, but it is not a total loss.
It also helps so that if anyone ever asks me about their windows in my area I can give them an honest idea of how much light they are getting. That reassurance or advice, whether it be a negative or a positive, is something that I have really been looking for.
And the icing on the cake for me has been that in the future, I can buy more of these fantastic plants (within reason) and I am not dooming them to the horticultural equivalent of living like a mole underground.
It has been reassuring to hear from other people like Becky and Christian, to know that I am not alone in the world wondering about light. And also from the Steves and Julies of this world, where they have offered their advice which has very much been appreciated.
Sorry, have gone on a bit. Will stop now.