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I think I was changing down as many gears as I needed judging the engine speed adn trying to blip the throttle while on the brake. Is this a bad way of doing things? I'm not sure there's enough time for me to let the clutch out for every change!
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That is the correct way of doing things to start with. Going back to basics and not rushing into corners will help you to become more comfortable with entering the corner and judging brake markers. Once you become comfortable you can move onto the next stage of closing everything up so each action takes less time. Your brain needs to adjust and make every thing you do "easy". If you rush onto the next stage before your comfortable there will be too much information to process meaning if anything happens that your not happy with, there is no room left to adjust to the error.
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On my first trackday at Cadwell (very wet) I had the rear locking up before almost every turn but got to deal with it (until I exited a corner too quickly and came off on the grass!)
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You dont need to be locking the rear. Keep things smooth and progressive for now. We arent talking race pace here. People often think the harder they brake, the faster they go. Not the case. Keep smooth and simple and work on this. Try the old tried and tested ride round slowly without hardly any brakes. This does work and makes you more aware of what your doing entering a corner. A simple track without long straights is the best for this, Brands is ideal.
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You've answered my question about braking whilst leant over and that's something I need to try. I thought that braking while on the lean caused the bike to stand up or is it ok as long as you're braking before leaning?
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Leave this for now. I can do this, but i am on slicks or race tyres on a bike that is setup for this type of braking. Until you have the other parts sorted, doing this may cause you to tarmac surf. Keep things simple to start with.
I recommend the MSV (motorsportvision) trackdays. They have days just for novices and provide very good instruction. One of the guys Francis Williamson is ideal, very smooth rider, raced at BSB level, relaxed to chat with etc. These days would be ideal for starting off next season.
Everyone progresses at different speeds. You need to progress at your own speed, not that of your friends.
You can put these things together on the road and start thinking about what you are actually doing when entering a turn instead of just riding. It is harder than on track though as other variables, like traffic come into the equasion.