waterbuoy

They look very similar to a couple of French restaurants I have seen where they repurpose retired cablecar cabins from some of the ski lifts

How old is 'old'? I have an elderly GM Chipmaster 150 sitting on the drive.....but it is chucking it down!

Alternatively, if you do have the appropriate skills then BAS (British Antarctic Survey) often look for guides to accompany the research teams down south

Far from it - you can pick up a well found steel boat around 36-40' for under £50k, do the trip and then sell it on your return. Overwintering really does dictate either steel or aluminium - and VERY large fuel tanks.

If you are serious aboiut this then you need to take a read of 'North to the Night' by Alvah Simon - a guy who overwintered up there in a 36' steel boat. He had intended to do the whole thing with his wife but she had to leave as her father was ill so he did the core winter bit on his own. It wasn't mainland Greenland, but Bylot Island which is on the west side of Baffin Bay well inside the Arctic Circle.

That looks more like the Makita 'special edition' cordless stuff they made a few years back than a Husky!

Like Hank I have the cheapo base unit from Makita which has been used/abused for about five years. I tend to use it just for changing wheels on the Land Rover (only 145-150Nm) and rope grips on cableways etc. It can save an hour or so when changing a set of four wheels, just remember to set them to the correct torque afterwards. IN other jobs I tend to use it more for undoing than tightening up - unless it is something really repetitive.

I thought it was maybe the Jehovah's witnesses setting forth to deal with surplus chrimbo trees!

Bit of a 'holy thread resurrection' but we are needing comms for two people working on opposite sides of a river - up to 120m apart but with direct line of sight. I see that the pro-coms get good reviews and are specified to work over that distance. My question is whether or not this is the case in reality? Also, are they still the dogs danglies or is there a new kid on the block? Thanks in advance.

Again, I agree with everything you say - but sadly our local authority (and school HT) don't. Until this week there weren't even any notices on the changing room doors - they are separate but next to each other, with no locks or security measures on either door (for each sex). Many of the girls are now using this as an excuse not to do PE, and some of the lads feel awkward too. There have been recorded incidents of children and adults walking into the wrong changing room, but the school and LA consider h incidents are acceptable. We have argued until we are blue in the face for PVGs as a minimum, but have been told that is unnecessary - yet I have to have a PVG to act as the safety boat driver for my own child and his friends at boat club! So far as the assault is concerned then the pupil who did the kicking has not, so far as we are aware, been punished. Pupils, parents and staff are angry, but the HT repeatedly says that he has to consider everyone's 'rights'. The sad reality is that, up here at least, the education system is set up to benefit the minority at the expense of the majority. At best, it is a drive towards mediocrity and the lowest common denominator.

It is a local authority school - which is part of the problem. They appointed a 'yes man' as the head teacher and he is more concerned with not upsetting the Authority than he seems to be about the welfare of the children. By way of another example, it is the only school in the whole LA area where members of the public are allowed to access and use the school gym and changing rooms during the school day. We (ie parents and the PC) are currently taking this to the highest level, not least because one of us was directly affected by Dunblane. However, both HT and the Local Authority think it is fine.......

Yup - I had no idea just how bad things are until I was asked to join the Parent Council. Whilst our situation isn't helped by a very self-serving and weak new headmaster who has effectively sidelined the former leadership tem, it is the overbearing desire to protect the 'rights' of the minority - in this case the trouble makers who do not want to be at school - which is undemining the moral of staff and pupils alike. In the cae I described the unruly child was not actually suspended by the school - the police took her away for interview, she took a day off (I am told) and was then welcomed back into the school - to the surpsie (and dismay) of many. I have been told (but don't know for certain) that the new head teacher sent his children to private school, which if true kind of says it all really.

Correct on all counts - the school used to have an onsite police liaison officer pre-covid but that is no longer the case due to cutbacks. It is probably worse than you state as there is a perception amongst the 'normal' children that those who misbehave then get special attention, to the detriment of everyone else. This makes the top headline in the 'Scottish News' section of the BBC website this morning - again, plenty of discussion on dangers to teachers, but nothing about the children who may also be on the receiving end: Union calls for teacher guidance on restraining pupils WWW.BBC.CO.UK The NASUWT says the Scottish government is four years late in providing "concrete guidance" for teachers.

Sorry - have been away working on Coll for a couple of days Yes, it happened on school premises - in full view of one of the staff rooms.