Also have a look at
http://www.justonelap.com/, lots of info for all levels.
I basically had all of my investments in funds, and after a prolonged period of crappy return, and them still taking there fees, I decided to take the plunge,
to start and manage my investments myself.
At this stage i'm about 50% self managed and 50% in funds. And even with the 50% i manage my self, there is a large portion that is blue chips, Indexes, and only about
3 stocks that i'm using as speculative trades. Im very novice at this, so my approach is very much cautious.