wrsni

I was going to ask who determined that it actually is "Scotlands oil" but was scared of the reaction!

We installed one of the 8kw ones in December. Again the 5kw (theoretically) would have been adequate but we decided to put in the 8 in case they weren't all they were cracked up to be but on the other hand the room it was going in has double doors and opens up to the rest of the house if the heat output was too great. Anyway, the double doors were removed within a couple of days of firing it up for the first time and the central heating hasn't been needed since. I can confirm that they've got their design spot on!

Sorry can't be specific as to where you are but over here you would address such an issue via the environmental health department of your local council. Sounds like he's well out of line and even speaking as a farmer I personally would have no issue about blowing the whistle. Totally appalling practice on so many levels.

May his next bowel movement have the texture of a hedgehog!

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all get more from the exchequer than we contribute and in Scotlands case that's allowing ALL North Sea oil revenue to be attributable to them. North Sea oil revenue in the UK has been squandered by both a public sector and welfare system running totally out of control and both these things are still the biggest burden on UK finances. Given that Salmond or the SNP have given no indication of trying to get these two things under control in an independent Scotland, in fact many of their policies indicate going even further down this route, there is no reason to believe that claiming all North Sea oil revenue for themselves is likely to improve an independent Scotland any more than it already does. Also, as a net beneficiary of the exchequer instead of the Scots bleating on about how the revenue from "their oil" () has been wasted in the rest of the UK, there would be much more justification for English taxpayers to complain about how their hard earned wages are being squandered in the drug infested slums of Glasgow or supporting continued habitation of the Outer Hebrides.

Well Salmond is quite happy to try it!

An idea born out of being seriously up against it, nothing like a bit of despair to get the old brain active! That's a very deep and insightful quip there mate, with a bit of help it could go viral. I like it very much.

I had to dig holes for everything so came up with this system of making a slit with a disc cutter off the plough, then two deep cuts at right angles to it with the spade and turn over a sod. Then when planting, put the roots in the hole and tumble the sod back in on top of the roots. Second pic shows how I spaced the rows at two meters by using a chain marker off the front of the tractor, this also meant that the rows didn't have to be straight but kept the right spacing.

Indeed, but we left that behind long ago. Besides, it's a big issue and I think it's been debated honestly and sensibly on here, more so than anywhere else I've seen. So in that respect, the people on here I think have collectively put the politicians to shame.

Well actually no it can't, but there will still be a United Kingdom they'll just have to change the description of who remains united. But that's all a bit of a sideshow, what really matters is how everything actually works (or doesn't). I have to be honest, up until now I really didn't care how it turns out but the more I've read, especially from the Scottish contributors, I really hope there isn't a split. Increasingly I think it would be a terrible shame to loose what exists on these islands especially now the Irish Republic and the UK have settled their differences, how ironic if another fractious dispute were to flair up to replace it.

But we have just the same issue with Belfast which frankly is a shithole, god forbid that people would ever judge Northern Ireland by what they see in and around Belfast, yet that's where the money is concentrated. I deal with a lot of English companies and sometimes people ask me where to go if they're coming over here, I just tell them to get on to one of the roads out of Belfast as quickly as possible, doesn't matter where they go, everywhere else will be nicer. Belfast has to have it's own airport as does Derry/Londonderry. Derry looses a shed load of money and Belfast City can't take anything much bigger than a Cessna or the locals are getting their roofs blew off, yet Aldergrove (renamed Belfast International despite not being in Belfast ) can't even get a few quid for a railway halt as the politicians would have to travel an extra 15minutes to get to it from Stormont and would prefer it wasn't there despite it being in the perfect location to be the one and only airport that the country actually needs. I could go on, and on, and on..................

Is that not to help the decent people in London escape?

I'll take heart then that maybe Northern Ireland is not unique in that respect!

Spot on. Never been to Westminster or indeed London in my life (an overnight stop at Gatwick doesn't count) but I could be at the gates of Stormont in less than half an hour, indeed I could be at the front door of my local council in less than five minutes. Yet I don't feel in the slightest bit more connected with any one of them more than the other. If it would save a few quid to improve the health service a bit I'd happily see local government and devolved administrations all axed and run the heap from Westminster (or Dublin should that day come). No need for EU above it either, one tier of government is all that any country requires if done correctly, the rest is just job creation.

Well now you see that's coming a lot closer to the Jim Sillars point of view which I find much more genuine and admirable than anything Salmond does. Salmond is trying to sell it on the basis that everything will be much better, Sillars just sells it on the basis of a desire to be independent and everything else will be whatever is necessary to BE independent. No gloss, no conjecture, frankly..........no bullshit, let's get on with it and see what we can do.

Nearly twenty years ago a vast majority of the people of Northern Ireland decided that giving some power to the guys with the guns in return for peace was a good trade off. Whether that was a sensible thing to do or not could be (and over here is) debated long and hard with no definitive answer. What is very plain however, is that the country was better governed direct from Westminster. The only thing that saves the day a bit is that we are now the most subsidised region of the UK but even with that level of subsidy we're still lagging way behind the rest in just about every economic measure. Scotland should pay heed!

Think about it this way. Many years ago when the old Milk Marketing Boards were under threat, the head of ours always used this analogy. Take a single twig, you can snap it no bother. But bind it together with a bunch of other twigs and see if you can snap it then. It's a good analogy I think!

That's odd, yet again we see a connection between nationalism and socialism. A mate of mine reckons it's as simple as the unemployed having nothing better to do than complain shout and protest while those in work are too busy to worry especially.* He may have a point! *edit* unless of-course you're a politician or union leader* whereby your "job" is to complain shout and protest! *or in Northern Ireland a "community worker"!

That's a very fair point, there's a lot of Scottish connection on the wifes side of the family and they would definitely be working class. They're dead set against independence, some of them have never voted in their lives and are going to make a point of voting just to say "no". As an aside, plainly Salmond will have to go if the vote goes against independence, or will the rules of what constitutes moral leadership suddenly change then???????

I hope and assume you actually mean the UK, and as it happens on the world stage the UK actually does punch well above it's weight. There's just as much nationalist sentiment in Wales or Northern Ireland but up until now these two regions by and large have the wit to realise that either on their own wouldn't have the clout to influence anything or anybody. There's no doubt that the departure of Scotland would definitely weaken the United Kingdom to some degree but what Scotland itself would loose by ceasing to be part of the UK would be much much greater.

Possibly, but he also knows that many are and it's his best chance to get what he REALLY wants. Power!

I believe it was Billy Connolly who once said that the desire to be a politician should automatically preclude the person from ever being one!

Well sorry but that's democracy for you. There are two aspects to democracy. Firstly everyone has their say, and secondly, you then accept the will of the majority. Are you suggesting things should still change after the vote because that's what 30% want, what about the 70% who are content to remain part of the UK????? Tell you what, have a look across the Irish Sea at how well we are getting along with our "Mandatory Coalition" and you'll see just how badly a country really can be run!!!

The big advantage of the Accumix is that you never need know an exact amount of petrol or oil so you use petrol out of a jerry can and oil out of the bottle. It matches the correct amount of both for the ratio you want within the bottle itself so it's quick accurate and fool proof. It's still made, surprised that someone hasn't taken it on and brought it over here again.

Don't use a die grinder for wood carving but I've a couple for 2-stroke porting work and have used them in the past in an industrial setting for various things. The ultimate set up is a hanging motor with flexy drive, head, and foot control pedal, not too far removed from what a dentist would use, but very expensive. If you have air available best set up for the money is a pencil pneumatic, about the thickness of a permanent marker and will spin up to about 30,000 but fully adjustable. Downside is that it hasn't a lot of torque at low speeds but if that's a problem then you're not doing it right! PS, assuming you would be using it for fine work.