ok, i got this working:
https://www.hagraphics.co.uk/testing/wordpress/
but the back end isn’t great for a regular user
<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-24" title="Monkey" src="https://www.hagraphics.co.uk/testing/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/2173314072_fcb511416b-300x280.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="168" /> here is the teaser text<!--noteaser-->
<!--more--><a href="https://www.hagraphics.co.uk/testing/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/2173314072_fcb511416b.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-24" title="Monkey" src="https://www.hagraphics.co.uk/testing/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/2173314072_fcb511416b-300x280.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="280" /></a>text goes here
what i really need is an upload form where the user uploads their image and it pushes it out as a thumb on the front page and a large image on the main page.
Anyone know if this is achievable?