No you are not writing a book :-(

Yeap, me and a couple of others I remembered the suggestion hence the
point if you are writing a book.

I get a friend to bleed the

You might need said friend again.  See below...

I am tempted to say it is not the bearing.  Try the following ...

Find a nice road with (gentle) sweeping left and right curves.  Get a
nice steady speed and get used to the noise of the car.  Watch if the
noise coming from the wheels changes as you go through the curves.  As
you go through a left curve the right side of the car will be loaded
more and vice-versa.  If there is a faulty bearing you will get more
noise when you load the side with the faulty bearing.

The change in sound can be (not as loud but ...) the same as when you
move from a piece of smooth tarmac to tarmac that is a bit more rough.

Looking for simple faults (guessing)
* the garage did not replace the bearing and just tightened it more.
* the nut on the driveshaft that holds everything in place (under
pressure) is loose (and thus the bearing may have been hurt, but simple
re-tightening may fix the problem).

More likely though...
* a bad ball joint or
* a steering knuckle joint

... some issue with the mounting of the suspension strut (MacPherson strut)

Worse of all (depending on price)
the play is actually in the steering rack.

OK.  You are none the wiser now (neither am I).

Most of the faults I am listing above would show in a simple MOT test.
I would go to a trustworthy MOT garage, and ask them to check the front
suspension as if they were doing an MOT test.  It should not cost you
the full MOT cost.  It might even be best if said friend (man I guess,
as they are more likely to do you being a woman) can take the car for
you and wait whilst they check it so he can see what is the problem.

What garage is this.  Your local?  Do you take the car for the MOT
there.  Does it come recommended? They seem to do a lot of work on your
car, and they also wanted to do a clutch for £600.

Start again.

It run out of oil.  Then your friend topped it up, and it has been OK
since?  Has it run for as long (mileage) as it did from the oil change
till you found it empty?

The brushes are just small pieces of carbon like those here
http://www.anglocarbon.com/acatalog/automotive.htm

Finding them may not be too easy ... but I would say less then £5.  The
labour to fit them could be more than replacing the alternator (as the
alternator would have to take it out).  The problem with doing it in a
garage is that the garage may not be happy to replace the brushes,
charge the full labour only for something else to go wrong and you go
back complaining.

Ask friend again?

If the battery light comes on you *must* fix the problem (It may be the
alternator or a bad battery or ... you need a proper diagnosis).  You
will end up with a flat battery and immobile!!!

I understand.

Battery light first.

If you need a complete alternator (the ones I see on a couple of
internet outlets are between £80-120 +VAT +PP) worth buying locally if
you can ... then I would also try to get that half MOT test done.  You
need to know how serious (money and/or safety) the two problems you have
are ... and how much they will cost in total.

See how far you get with this group.  There are some knowledgeable
people at uk.rec.cars.maintenance.  They might be able to recommend an
honest garage in your area.

Hope it helps a little.
Regards
Charles

If bearings haven't been properly fitted they can go bad quicker than
normal. This usually means they haven't been fitted dead straight with a
press, or they have been beaten in and it has forced something into a
shape it shouldn't be in.

Not always of course. But sometimes.