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A couple of months ago, my dad took my car out to go into town (Doesn't normall drive mine but is covered 3rd party on it). While in town a woman decided to ram it up the arse. He got out the car, she accepted it was her fault, gave her details and left. My car was totally drivable, looked like...
For a cheapish zoom, many recommend the Sigma 70-300mm as you stated above. I'd go for that over the Nikon 70-300mm and even the ED version which just has uprated elements.
I'm not going to talk about IS as I dont know enough about it but a monopod will allow enough movement and is infact very handy at trackdays (as long as the track is flat) because you can pan very easily. With tripods you can do the same if they have a handle on the ball head :)
Lots of people are going for the Canon 350D, I personally prefer Nikon so went for the D50 and haven't looked back! Some good 2nd hand prices coming on the semi-pro models too :)
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/226652/art/canon/powershot-a430-silver.html
You should find a camera adequate for snapshots for around £100.
(Here's some)
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/xx/xx/0-110/1/1/criteresn.html?s=xx&m=xx&t=0-110&categorieid=1&cat=1&startrow=&sortBy=DESC&orderBy=Prix