Low tech wins the day...
Following on from the object of the experiment which gave rise to this thread....
For anyone who is remotely interested, the experiment with the masking (painters) tape trick was a resounding success!
I had tried 3 different brands of filament on this particular print (180mm x 170mm flat base) and a number of different settings but the front left corner lifted every time even after only the 2mm base was done and before the outer shell started. Brim on its own didn't resolve it and neither did mouse ears.
Having sorted out the skirt v brim issue on here (I used an 8mm brim with elephant foot compensation turned off) I tried once more. I taped the left side and front. And behold it held and the corner stayed put to the bitter end of the 8.5 hour print, instead of being 5mm off the bed at the corner and 60mm in either direction before flat to the bed!