Thanks to everyone for responding.

Just to clarify my mechanical experience is zilch! I am a total noob at this. That's what I meant by "I'm trying to learn how to repair my own bike but I'm just at the beginning."

I have never done anything other than ride the bike before, but I am now looking to pick-up the skills to maintain my bike so that I won't be so dependent on the shop every time I have a minor problem and I can keep the bike in good repair before a critical issue occurs. That will be a steep learning curve for me, but my plan was to tackle the issues I have 1 by one in a logical way until I understand how to completely strip and build up my bike from scratch(the wheel issue is just the first of many challenges I will face). I understand this will take some time to master, but ultimately it will give me the freedom I am looking for.

Most of you don't live in the UK so I'm guessing you don't know how bad the roads really are here , but there are other contributory factors in this case. 1) the bike is very old approx 1987, 2) I have never done any work on it before other than take it into the shop for specific things when needed.

OK, I guess my grasp on the terminology is not quite there yet:
-By buckled I meant if you spin it round and look at the brake block it goes in and out as it turns.
-The wheels are 700c
-Fitting a wheel, I give the guy a wheel and he attaches it to the bike so it goes round

The spokes have completely had it, several are broken and the rest are in poor state, so I would need new ones. Why would I need to get them cut? My understanding from reading up is that there is no standard length of spoke and it will depend on the other components used so I will need to specify the exact size I need to order for them to be cut. Is this not right?

Gerv, Thanks. I think you hit the nail on the head. I was just hoping to get some pointers and encouragement as I learn through experimentation.