Now I have icons on my TC Linux Desktop

Seems that TC doesn't use the traditional ~/Desktop but relies on Rox-Filer to supply what's called a pinboard.
To get this just requires adding one extra line to ~/.xsession and making some preference changes. After this, icons can be dragged from Rox-Filer to the desktop where they will remain persistently.
I had a problem when no wallpaper appeared but this can be easily rectified just by right-clicking on any icon and choosing Backdrop. This allows you to drag any image you want to the "box" and choosing the "Fit" option.
Looks good but seems there's more to this than the usual Desktop.
See this thread for more info.