difflock

I have noticed the recent? practice of leaving the potato's in the drills, and only digging for direct sale. Whereas they used to be dug and put in pits, then more recently into expensive to construct potato stores. What changed? Better tyres and machinery, or spraying off the tops instead, and leaving in the ground, or what?

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I really like tha millstone for a hearth! I would also agree that your Rumford fire would be nicer, or more natural to stand around than any woodstove. And with our unlimited(at least in my lifetime) "free" firewood . . . sigh! Marcus

You do not always get what you pay for. But you most certainly do NOT get what you do NOT pay for. I imagine.

Put a couple of doors on the front of the Rumford fireplace as well while you are at it . . .

Bloody obvious that the venturi effect will draw extra, unneeded for combustion air from the room up the open flue, with 2 effects, 1 it cools the combustible gases before they all get burned, and 2 it draws in fresh cold replacment air in from somewhere else, generally below the door, causing a lovely draught. This will also happen with no fire lit, but to a lesser entent. With a woodstove the combustion air can easily be throttled, plus in the more sosphicated stoves it is cunningly heated and directed into the optimium stovebox location for best combustion. Simples.

There is a bloke on Youtube, US based, who buys and "tears down" power tools, and if I remember, he avers that the tools retailed by the stores such a Screwfix carry subtly different model numbers from those sold in higher priced outlets and are hence easily confused with the searched for product, AND more critically the guts are different, perhaps a cheaper plastic bushing instead of a proper bearing, etc etc. I know when the brother worked in a motor factors that if anyone brought back a failed bog standard Draper rachet, they simply went in the back and swopped out the broken guts for a Professional grade set of guts, and the customer went away happy, or so he told me. So appearances can be deceptive. 'Ere we go! And honest to God, that was the first clip that came forward!

. . .tick's arse!

My only experience with social workers was 15 odd years ago, when we fostered for a period. We stopped since the foster children were having a detrimental effect on our children, and there was ZERO support. We had to be interviewed, prior to being accepted, and that senior SW? (probably, I presume) appeared to be O.K. Others were very young, inexperienced and downright wet behind the ears. My experience in group meetings to discuss and never resolve issues caused me to form the opinion that keeping the paperwork filled in was the most important thing. From the Shoesmith case a few years back, and knowledge of how people employed by the Government/Council can behave dishonestly, without reprecussions, I also concluded that some home visits were probably entirely fictious. Tick the box and fill in the milage claim. Or claim one knocked on the door without response.(This was based on observations of a case worker who was supposed to check up on a blue card halfwit I was responsible for, it was clear she did not wish to interact with him, but simply punched the milage, and bytimes possibly claimed milage without even punching the miles?) PLUS, The sad truth that some of these SW will be frightened of, or manipulated by some of the people they have to deal with, the bad ones, the dangerous ones. Body cams should be a must, to ensure the SW are actually DOING their jobs, and rapid intervention based on this body cam evidence, no argument, no quibbles. Apart from "ye cant fix stupid", my other distillation based on a lifetime of observation of mostly Councli employees is "lets all pretend", that we are doing a grand job and there are no problems, while we draw our salaries and countdown to our pensions. I fear the same applies to many/most SW's. I do appreciate there will be well intentioned or decent SW's, but they will burn out very rapidly, due to the culture they work within. Edit, Also burn out due to the human animals they deal with and the cruelty and despair they must witness. Marcus

Except if she is relying on the auto ignition? Or perhaps do some gas stoves cut off the gas if there is a power cut(safety related)

Rarely sub 20 in the morning, about 6am, when we left just now, it had peaked at 28, I aim for about 25 but I generally seem overegg it just before bedtime. It must be 35 up at the apex of the ceiling. 15 deg in the rest of the house incl the bedroom. The living room being heated with a nominal 5kW wood stove. The wonders of modern double glazing means the living room has a full wall of glass, with a big sliding door to the outside. And yet it is easy heated!

Sigh, typical confession from a married man😁😉😌

Thanks OSM, I was aware from messing wi such stuff when younger.(An thinking of a knapsack full of petrol to mist the poly beads proper efficient like!) But round the daughters hoose, Senior Management could well disaapprove! An its her birthday today.

Yup! Job for a 'leccy wan innit!

Petrol, polystyrene, and a blower. Ignition! Perhaps I should consult that mad plumber wot built the jetbike et Al. His name will come back to me. AhHa! Colin Furze!

Two reasons for removal. (I) the obvious fire risk with deadly smoke hazard. (ii) the fact that apparently polysteryene will "attack" and degrade the PVC insulation to the house wiring! Which is why the previous owner, a somewhat eccentric electrican, had lovingly wrapped the electrical wires in plastic and cellophane!

20litre ain't gan Tay cut it Sur!

Gary, Was my first thought, but what size is the collector bag? Since there could be 15m3, say 1500sq ft at 4" deep. =150m2/10=15m3, so 60 No fills of a standard wheelie bin. Since my other notion was to use a domestic vaccum and a clean wheelie bin, with our 15m long wander hose. But the plastic bin and the bloody static and polystyrene beads and wind and neighbours, AAragh!

The daughter's house where the previous owner filled between the joists with broken up polystyrene and polystyrene beads. A shallow roof and a 2nd low placed purloin make access to the eves rather difficult. I figure "hoovering" to be the only practical method, but need a BIG bag or collector. Thoughts please.

Even a particularily disreputable 12th Bonfire Committee would refuse to touch those, and this with a "borrowed" chainsaw.

I can not bring myself to read this article.

Quite the right place for it too!

I honestly see no difference between rats or foxes as prey animals, but I do not buy into the nonsense that hunting with hounds is the most effective or efficient way to kill foxes, which would be lamping with a rifle. Also large numbers of horses plundering about through the countryside has its drawbacks, it always did, but back when the Gentry mostly owned the countryside and were also the RM etc, it was "different". Times have changed.

To slightly change tack, I have really really enjoyed watching YouTube videos of dogs being used to kill rats in and around decrepit farm buildings and from under the modern movable henhouses/pighouses. A proper days crack.

I agree with that analysis. I also have deep misgivings about nurturing livestock for the pleasure of hunting it to death/blasting it out of the sky. I have the same misgivings about restocking fishing waters for paid anglers, or the catch and release policy, which must amount to repeated torture. I also loathe and detest the provactive and carefully filmed and edited antics of the hunt sabs. Most of these activities are driven by too many humans and not enough nature, simply because of too many humans. Edit: Perhaps odd(but not really having been very distressed at seeing a working abbotier as a 14-15 year old), that as a livestock farmers son, I applaud the recent developments in culturing or growing viable meat substitutes in factories. Perhaps then there will not be such a reliance on factory produced pork and chicken, where the poor birds are referred to as "crops" and treated as such. Also the conundrum of the intelligence of pigs, and pigs being seen merely as a foodstuff by most, while at the same time most would be abhorred at eating dogmeat, with dogs being of similar intelligence to pigs. Grass fed cattle or sheep, at least get some life, prior to their slaughter, and if grazing marginal uncultivable grasslands or rocky/boggy mountain pastures, a win win on all counts. Marcus.