Strike!

> noticed that the 'O'-ring was pinched between the seal!

At least you knew what had happened :-)

> Who's a silly boy, then! :-)

Obscenely lucky is more like it! But in fact, it seems digicams can be quite
robust. A few months ago, we had visitors from the US, and had just finished
a poto session in the Botanical Gardens when we got hit by a real tropical
rainstorm. Forced to run home (3 kilometers!) in pouring rain. I had a
waterproof bag which could only hold my camera. His Coolpix 990 got well and
truly soaked and went on the fritz. As in your case, a $50 repair was all it
took to get it working perfectly again. I was happy for him, he was
dismayed: He had hoped for an excuse to upgrade :-)

Bjorn