Thanks for looking Steve
"Dour conditions" is about right on that day although I think I have some others that should convert to more traditional black and white.
I think the first is 'box camera' and the second 'cross process' or something like that. The borders can be toggled on or off - (not on here though obviously)
Aye. It looks like you've ran it through some very strong filter in a suite like colour fx. I like the suites but tend to use them for faux things like grads, sky light filters etc
B&W isn't a great medium to use in flat light as you'll end up with a lot of grey scale/midtone. No you need shadow and contrast to make it work