Lowena, it's very difficult to learn bobbin lacemaking from written instructions only - some people do manage it but most need a real person there, at least for the beginning stages. Are there any groups or classes near you.
The Lace Guild have lists of classes and groups. They have been having wi-fi/internet connection problems recently, from their Facebook page on Thursday:
As a short term measure there has been a temporary email address set up which can be used for urgent or time critical enquires to the Guild. Your message will be passed to the appropriate person to deal with. I would like to thank you all again for your patience and our staff for their support. Until further notice you can contact us on Laceguildoffice@gmail.comThe wire in your kit is to attach the beads to the ends of the bobbins. As I said, plastic bobbins are fine but like all English Midlands bobbins, the beads are there to add weight. If the beads in your kit are lightweight plastic ditch them and replace with glass beads. Polystyrene pillows are fine, but they do need covering. A layer of blanket or quilt wadding with a cotton outer cover, preferably a plain dark colour such as dark blue or bottle green. The pins are used to hold the threads in place as the work progresses, but can come out after a couple of inches has has been worked - see Maximum's photos. Brass pins are traditional and many people prefer them because they don't rust, but they do corrode if left in a pillow for too long and they do bend much easier than steel pins. They don't need to be very fine if the thread is not very fine. For regular 50/3 sewing cotton thickness and upwards 0.65mm pins are OK, you only need the finer 0.55 pins for anything finer.
One other thought, your kit and whatever instructions it includes is almost certainly aimed at starting with torchon lace. That is what most lace teachers in UK start with, but down in Devon, and you are beyond Devon, they often start people on Honiton lace which is very fine, uses a different type of bobbin with no beads and the lace is made in small sections which are joined together. Very different techniques and terminology, it's just the basic stitches which are the same.