So I do: Applications->System Tools->Configuration editor
And then I go to apps->nautilus->preferences
But the option:
desktop_is_home_dir
although set to false (the checkbox is not ticked) appears as ticked in the icon on the left (in the name column).
and consequently I see all my sub-directories on the dektop (which makes it far too crowded).
Do I need to check the permissions of ~/Desktop, or is there some other option that needs changing?