Doc Holliday

Afternoon all! It's that time of year when the buildings & contents are up for renewal & Mrs H has insisted this is a blue job, so I'm asking for recommendations for a decent insurance broker that can deal with this (plus other policies as and when they come up). I can't be bothered trapsing through endless websites trying to save a few quid here & there or only having some things covered & not others. I've been in touch with one broker local to me and, even though they came back with a fairly hefty premium, I did instruct them to go ahead but what has annoyed me is they want it all up front or want to charge me 11.65% to pay over 10 months. They clearly don't really want the business or any of the other renewals as and when they come up. All I want is a decent professional that can provide decent cover at a sensible price and is happy to look at us as long term clients. Recommendations gratefully received. Thanks.

Ok, so now I've had a few more in the bag since this, there have been no others with that strange discolouring on the crop. It is odd that both cock birds had this issue and yet the hen didn't. Both had a very strong smell about them and what leaked out of the vent destroyed the dustsheet I wrapped them in (just to keep them contained until I got them home. I've also hung the other birds for several days, or longer over the colder days, with no issues. This must have been some kind of virus or infection. Would avian flu have this effect or would it be something else?

Hi All, As per the title, I'm looking for a venison supplier, ideally west Kent or east Sussex but will look further afield if the reliability is there. I was in touch with a guy but I've had to keep chasing and now he's gone quiet which tells me he either doesn't want the business or can't fulfil it. Looking for a reliable recommendation so I can build a good on-going relationship. We are experimenting with a few ideas as to how we want the meat/carcass prepped but I can go over this with anyone put forward. Many thanks.

Evening all! You know how, when travelling down a country lane, you'll sometimes clip a stupid pheasant or 2 as they fly up to get out of the way. Well, last week I had 2 do this and, rather than let them flap about injured and/or go to waste, I did the decent thing and dispatched them humanely 😏 Even though it was fairly warm last week, I managed to keep them cool-ish, one of them did start to smell a bit 'high'. The other started leaking a bit from the vent. After 4 days I thought I'd best prepare them. One had a very unusual purple-ish hue to the crop (see photo). I haven't seen this before. The other was unaffected. On further prepping, both birds thighs had a deep maroon colour to the thighs (see other photo). I wasn't sure if this was connected with the purple crop but it was in both. The one without the purple crop was the one leaking from the vent. Both birds were from different parts of the same estate. Thanks, Doc

Went out yesterday near Seaford with bass rod and lures. Not for the first time I've drawn a blank using lures. I spent nearly £400 a few years back on bass lure fishing kit (rod, reel, lures, etc.) after watching a few Henry Gilbet videos on YT. Although I enjoy the time going fishing, occasionally it would nice to hook a lovely bass. Maybe I'm going in the wrong conditions (it was a lovely still day yesterday with very little or no wind), or maybe I need to be fishing at dawn or dusk. Or maybe I'm just having some back luck which, without, I'd have no luck at all. Keen to know others successes or failures where seafishing with lures is concerned.

Just wondering if anyone has had any first hand experience of the aforementioned? I see his face cropping up regularly online and have even sat through a couple of his 'webinars'. Actually, that's a lie. I sat through the same one twice! I have no doubt the guy is a class 1 schmoozer of the first order but I am curious if there is any substance to all his bluff & bluster. I also have no doubt that he makes his money by exploiting those who are keen to 'get rich quick' using ForEx as the dangling carrot, but honest reviews seem to be rarer than what you may expect to fall out of the rear end of a rocking horse.

I will have a look at the new indexing arm and the 3 D mags, thank you. Other than that, as everyone acknowledges, it is an excellent air rifle. The guy in the gun shop is just doing what he is paid to do and sell guns, but ut is a bit odd he didn't ask why I was wanting to upgrade.

Hi all, I've been considering upgrading my AA S410 Carbine just recently. I don't have any issue with it, per se, except that the magazine doesn't always rotate. This can be annoying, especially if you want/need to reload quickly. I have tried new spring arms and magazines. Works ok for a short time then back to not always rotating the mag. I had a chat with a guy in my local shop who suggested either the FX Dreamline Classic (not sure if they do a Carbine version) or the Weihrauch HW110K. The FX weighs the same as my AA (2.8kg) but it doesn't come with a moderator so would be wondering if this would affect the accuracy? The Weihrauch HW110K (classic or Carbine) weight isn't stated but I'm guessing the carbine will be lighter. I have to be honest, I didn't like the feel of the Weihrauch in my hand of with my cheek on the comb. The guy in the shop said although the FX is better built, the Weihrauch would win overall against the AA & FX. Thoughts?

I was thinking about getting back into this. I used to do it some 30 years back. I just spoke to the one decent inland shop down this way that does sea fishing tackle (Maidstone Tackle) and happened to mention my intentions and was surprised when they guy said I should double check on the local regs, etc., and did explain why, although the area I am considering doing this has very little human/animal traffic and I will be present for the duration of the tide coming in and going out again. However, I did do a quick check through DEFRA & the local authority, plus a Google search but there seems to be precious little info on this. Does anyone know of or has had any experience with the legal aspect of this? Thanks!

Having had progressively worsening osteoarthritis of the right knee, amd following seeing a specialist, I have a decision to make. Osteotomy or a partial knee replacement. I know there are pro's & cons for both and that is why I would like to hear from anyone who have had either, especially the former as this is the one I'm considering. The recovery is longer, which is potentially the biggest downside for me, but you have more longevity & have your own knee. Partial knee replacement has a quicker recovery but the downside is not as much range of movement plus will only last about 10 years. Thanks in advance.

In case you hadn't realised, they're all as mad as a box of frogs 👍 It's the ones without any cats that tend to catch us out. The ones with cats are easy to work out how mad they are. The more cats, the madder. (sorry welsh1, hadn't meant to drag cats into it but it is purely for scientific purposes 😉)

Well, Mrs H and I are off on our holi-bobs next week. Only nipping across to French France for a week's glanping in Brittany. Do folk still change up money like in days of old or is it all done on plastic these days? If the latter then we only have debit cards. Should really get a credit card but don't really believe in them, per se. They're handy in terms of protection but that's it. Anyway, where does one get their euros from? Post office? They have zero commission but the exchange rate looks a bit naff. In real terms, to change up £500 it will be costing me the best part of £20. Any other places to buy euros, except banks as we all know they like to give one a good shafting whenever they can. They don't even have the God damn common courtesy to give you a reach around!

Just things which didn't seem to directly relate to the topic header subject. A couple of posts got deleted when someone mentioned needing to be fully vaccinated to enter France, in spite it being dropped by the authorities at the beginning of the month. I happened to address the fact that they weren't actual bona-fide vaccines in the true sense of the word, you know, in the sense that some posts can meander. Anything that questioned or criticises the censorship from the powers that be. That kind of thing. Nothing radical, in the sense that it was emotional or a personal attack on anyone. Nothing specific, just in general. As you were a moderator how stringent were you instructed to be? What was permissible and tolerated? Obviously, hate speech and verbal attacks on an individuals personal beliefs should never come in to an intelligent debate. One for Teal, maybe. How long was the main website running before the decision to start a forum based around pigeon shooting and other country pursuits and how long to get it to a point where it became self sustaining, so to speak?

After joining and trying to use a camping forum recently (as Mrs H and I getting in to camping), I had to throw in the towel after about 6 weeks. Other members were fine, it was just the admin and mods. I know you guys have standards to meet and it isn't a democracy, per se, but the forum in question was practically socialist in the way they redacted some posts and even delete whole posts, plus restricting ones ability to post replies and new threads. So, it led me thinking if anyone, outside of Teal and his crew of mods, have had any experience of starting up and running a forum or even just working within one moderating.

Mrs H & I are looking to do a stint in French France for our annual break this year. BF seem to have limited sailing from Portsmouth to Cherbourg but having looked at all their options, it comes in at over £540 😳 DFDS were a bit cheaper at £352 but then we have about 4.5 hours driving to get to the campsite and there isn't any real saving in travel time if we went via the channel tunnel as it's about an hours drive to either Newhaven or Folkestone. What we save in crossing via the channel tunnel we lose in extra driving time (6.5 hours to campsite). Still, the crossing wouldn't an issue if the weather was a bit choppy. Just wondering if anyone has been camping over the water recently and how they found the charges to get across. Also if anyone has a Club Voyage card they'd care to share with me then that would be truly appreciated.