John,
I just looked at your latest pics and I have to say that you have turned out the "stickest" looking Stilton curd I have ever seen.
I have no idea why it would have been this sticky since most I've seen lean toward the really wet side.
One thing that I didn't see you mention was pressing the curd (in a cheesecloth bag) in a board sandwich.
Not sure if the recipe you followed called for this but it's always been one of the most important parts of my Stilton making.
When I first remove the curd and start the draining process, my curd is not just moist, but WET.
I then hang it in a cheesecloth bag for 20 minutes and then put the bag between two boards and press with 10 lb. of weight for two hours.
After this pressing, the cheese curd is very very firm. In fact I lift it out of the cloth in one big piece and then mill it (breaking it into walnut size pieces) and add the salt.
By this point, I'm actually putting....ummmm....chunks of solid curd into my mold and like Carter said, I normally have a lot of whey issue from the curd over the next few days.
I made another Stilton Friday night (after the Parmesan) and I saw the same results as in the past.
For your next Stilton you might give the sandwich board method a try and see how it works out.
I will say that every Stilton recipe I've looked at, did call for the addition of cream, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the right way of making it.
Hope this helps out and the cheese does look nice now that you've smoothed it.
Btw, the smoothing is what causes the classic wrinkled rind to form. You should begin to see that wrinkling begin within about 3 weeks.
Dave