Doc Holliday

The former of your idea, LS, is one I have looked at and did try that with my old bookkeeper when she needed a bit of work. I also tried it with my friends fiance at the time but she kept phoning me asking me if we did this type of work, or that type of work, in spite of leaving her a list of things I did and did not do. Both seemed to struggle with this but I'm not totally sure why. I fired my friends fiance after finding she had left at about 2 in the afternoon several times. Again, I gave her fair warning and told her that she was employed until 5pm and that because she was a my friend's fiancé she wasn't to take liberties. I do, however like the latter part of your post. I hadn't thought about that. Maybe will make enquiries. Wanderingstar, the London company was Pimlico Plumbers Rewulf, you are a kindred. It's true. Looking back, I was never really better off financially. I think you need to build things up to a good team of 10 before you can employ a manager to oversee them. I have to say that cherry picking is pretty much all I do but part of me can't help but think I can make more of this business. I think part of my trouble is I genuinely care for my reputation and what my clients think. I don't think old Charlie Mullins does. From what I heard, from the local guy who works for them, is that if the client doesn't pay then he makes the engineer pay as it must have been something they did for the client to withhold payment.

We have Woodies and Collar Doves mainly. Mrs H calls the latter Turtle Neck Doves We also have Starlings (when the meal worm feeder is stocked up). We used to have loads of Sparrows but they seem to have moved on. I was disinfecting the feeders on Monday morning and had a brief visit from a Robin, which I was genuinely excited about. Previous visitors include Goldfinches (still trying to tempt them back with Niger Seed), a Kingfisher, Fieldfares & Redwings (to pick the berries off the Pyracantha & Mistletoe), Blackbirds and a couple of Bluetits. Again, still trying to tempt them back with some black sunflower seeds. The feeders we have in the Garden are as follows - No mess seed & grain Sunflower hearts (Woodies & Doves) Berry flavoured suet (Starlings and maybe the odd Sparrow) Mealworms (Starlings) Niger seed (for the Goldfinches but remains untouched - I change it monthly) Black sunflower seeds (for Bluetits but remains untouched) Fat balls (no one seems to like these unless there is absolutely nothing else on offer) Jar of Peanut butter (special birdy one, apparently, but again remains untouched) So, if anyone can tell me when I still only get Woodies & Doves I'd sincerely appreciate it. Or maybe they've just got wind of our reputation where we live.

What a low life! I'll wager he even uses disabled toilets

I thought this was going to be a thread about Tightchoke losing his dog. I was prepared with words of condolence and everything.

As some of you know, I'm a heating engineer and plumber by trade. I've been self employed since 19 and started worked for myself in earnest from 25. I'm now 47. In that time I've had a number of guys work for me at different periods. At one time I was also in partnership with a good mate. He pretty much ran of the office side of things (answering the phone, booking jobs, etc.) and I took care of things on jobs (making sure the guys knew what was to be done, etc.) but after three years we still hadn't moved forward so I decided to call it a day. I'm not sure if it's just my trade that makes things difficult, as in when one of the guys working for you messes up it tends to go pear shaped quite spectacularly, but finding the right calibre of tradespeople seems to be an impossible task. Even if you do find one who's half decent on the tools, the chances are you find out they're taking advantage of your good nature. You try and treat guys well and they take advantage but take an iron fist they say you're too hard. I've tried instilling that good communication is key and that they need to give me feedback and communicate with me as I do them. Nothing seems to work. I tried to get some inside intel and infiltrate a company that seemed to being doing it right (a London plumbing company) and see what system or contract they had. I applied for a job and got offered the position but they day I was meant to start I broke out in a cold sweat, felt sick, etc., so didn't make it in. I think they thought I had second thoughts but the crux is I never found out. I even approached one of their guys to find out what the deal was. Again, I drew a blank but I think it's because there is no contract or system written down. The last 2 guys I had working for me was about 6 or 7 years ago. Things were ok-ish but nothing was different from any other time of having guys working for me. I was spending most of my time running about and wiping their backsides as they hadn't listened to what was explained to them at the start of the job or I'd have to go back and redo something as the client was reporting problems and it was down to something they had neglected to do. As a consequence the customers were getting miffed and so I was having to pacify them, some were long term good clients who I had worked hard to get and gain their trust, etc.. We broke up for Xmas and was fully expecting to come back in the New Year running about like mad men but there was precious little coming in. Certainly nothing worth troubling either of the guys over. One lived in Hastings and the other lacked confidence to go out by himself so I did the jobs myself. It got to the middle of Feb and I have to admit it was actually quite nice. Jobs were trickling in, enough to keep the wolf from the door, they were getting done without any drama, the customers were happy, I was getting paid without any problems and knew the work was getting done right first time. It was stressless, and I was happy. I now find myself thinking about expanding again but know it would be futile to go down the same route without having a tried and tested system in place but how does one do this? How do you take your business forward, find the right people and get them to follow your system? The thing is, this would have to be the last time I did this so it would have to be right. Or do I just carry on as a guy on his own doing the work he likes for the customers he likes? There is a lot to be said for the latter.

I had to laugh Scully as you're right. It amazed me it went past one page, but the reason it prompted the question was because Mrs H wanted me to go to the sales with her at Bluewater and needed the loo so found the nearest gents. 2 of the 4 cubicles were out of order and there were 3 blokes waiting so decided to jog on, so to speak. On passing the disabled loo's I thought I'd just have a quick check. There were 4, all empty, so I jumped in one. As I came out and walked past people waiting for their partners I heard someone say "He doesn't look disabled". I don't think they were expecting me to address them but I did, and politely.

We all know that using disabled parking bays is very much frowned upon (although I do question whether it is actually 'illegal', per se, especially if it wasn't a council run car park) but what about disabled WC's? If the cubicle is out of order and you need to have a pony then would you, or should you, use the diasbled WC? Say if you did use it and, on exiting, was faced by a member of the public with a family member in a wheelchair, or they themselves may well be in a wheelchair, would they be right to scorn you or are you perfectly within your rights to use it if no other option was available or if there was a queue? Afterall, it's not the same as parking in a disabled bay... is it?

I don't know why but I like to watch something that gives a retrospective review of the year but no matter how much I try to watch this show I just find the panelists to be completely off-putting with the utter cobblers that they try to pass off as comedy. Judging by the extent of the extreme left wing views they throw about on there I think it must be made by the same people who turn out HIGNFY as the content and direction is so similar you couldn't get a fag paper between them.

Evenin' all! Mrs H bought me a dash cam last Xmas, a nextbase 402G. I recently returned it as it had issues freezing up. I swapped it for the 412GW but it doesn't have motion detection. I've just been on their site to try and compare and it is a horrible website (at least when using mobile). The short of it is I'm going to take this one back but would like to know what you guys use and how you rate it. Thanks, as always. Doc

When I was a barman in a steak house the grill chef there once told me about blue and 'french blue' steaks. It never crossed my mind to check it until now so I think he may have been misinformed as it seems there is no such thing as 'French blue'. The way he described how a steak should be cooked french blue was to put the steak on a plate and take a slow walk through a warm room. Presonally I like mine rare to medium rare. I like my duck, lamb and pigeon served pink and my fish just about cooked through, apart from maybe tuna. I don't mind a bit carpaccio beef or tuna. I have also heard that pork can also be served rose but I think this applies to livestock having been reared unnaturally as they are less prone to getting parasites, etc.

As the time draws near for me to procure the festive lunch, I usually find myself going to a local-ish auction house that sells Turkeys (plucked but not drawn) and buy a couple. I've usually hung them for a 2 - 3 days before drawing but I have been doing a bit of research this morning as to how long you can actually hang them for. One site recommends at least a week, possibly 10 days. Although I like the idea of letting it hang I'm a little cautious as one bird we had last year had a particularly strong flavour which was a little too much for palate. It was fine on the day and just tasted like a good flavoured turkey but it was the days following that I noticed it tasting stronger than usual. Not off just strong, almost gamey. I did wonder if it was because maybe we had ended up with a stag as it was about 20lb. We usually go for about a 12lb bird (Mrs H wanted to push the boat out a bit as we had her son and daughter-in-law over). This year we're reverting to the 12lb-ers. Anyway, I digress. I was wondering which of you get your birds undrawn and how long you hang them for. Also, whether anyone else has had a strong tasting bird and whether it was a stag or a long hung hen.

Every year I like to buy the Christmas Radio Times. I was looking forward to seeing what was on the box on the day itself and I have to say it is a thorough disappointment. Next to sweet F.A. on. No good films, at least none that I haven't seen, and no Bond. What on earth is going on? Maybe this is the advent of being able to record so much stuff or being able to stream a movie but it juat isn't the same. As far as I can recall there has always been a Christmas day blockbuster premier but nothing this year. At least not that I noticed.

It never ceases to amaze me when people.see fit to criticise the Monarchy. "Bunch of spongers", "They cost us too much", "Money better spent on hospitals and homeless", etc, seems to be the usual cry of the ignorant and ill informed. Every bit of revenue the Monarchy makes goes to the Crown Estate. In return, they get an allowance (15% from memory). The Monarchy is an institution, like the Presidency only better and with more class. Sure. Ok, let's do away with them. At least we don't have them sponging off us any more, the bunch of freeloaders. So what happens then? Who heads the country? The likes of cannon on here who seem to be dead set against them? I think I'd rather stay with the status quo if it's all the same. No offence cannon, but can you honestly say that you would be prepared to live youe life in such a way that every day of your life was planned for you and you had to act in a way that meant you always thought of your country and everything it stood for before yourself. I don't know you from Adam but I sincerely doubt you would be able to pull it off. I know I couldn't. So, in short, before you start crying for their blood or heads, think about what the Monarchy, and especially our present Queen, have given to country. I think you would be very surprised.

It never ceases to amaze me when people ask for a discount and are offended when they are told "no". I worked for a couple of guys in my early 20's who told me "Never do favours for anyone. It will come back and bite you in the backside. I just thought they were a bit jaded and, being a nice bloke, I did do the odd favour here and there and, more often than not, it would come back and bite me. Family also think they have a right to take advantage of your skills as a tradesmen. Seeing as I don't have contact with my family then it is no longer an issue but when I did, boy, did they know how to take the rise. The other thing that makes me laugh is 'mates rates'. I don't ask for it when I get people in that I know and I don't offer it. I've had to work hard to gain my knowledge and experience and it didn't come cheap. What's that old adage? The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotten. I charge according to my level of knowledge and experience and will.always give a professional service, but it comes at a cost. If people don't want to pay it then I don't go out.

Welcome to the darkside 12gauge82. At least that's how those who have yet to taste it for themselves would have others believe it to be. There is a lot of leftie hype from the likes of Huffington Post and BBC. Even ITV have previous of it from Tom Bradby and his ilk. I find it repugnant that those who are meant to represent the media and keep the average man informed are unable to do it in an unbiased way. Like you, I chose to find out the facts for myself.

I think Farage & Trump are alike in that they are nor career politicians, and that is what people are fed up with. The political elite who milk the system for all its worth. We all know politicians like to tell us what they think we want to hear, along with a condescending attitude that really hacks people off, as well as twisting things that are said to either make themselves look good or making others look like numpties. Maybe there should be a time limit that anyone can serve as a politician. That would help weed out those who seek it as a career, and a pretty lucrative one at that for the most part. It would also help to ensure that anyone serving in office would have experience of the real world and real jobs. Just an idea.

I don't think he can help himself, if the truth be known. He reminds me of my brother. He's an arrogant, condescending ***** who tries to talk down to people, wbich is probably why I've never really taken to him. I think the real issue is that I didn't use words of one syllable or less so he could easily follow my point. If you really want me to spell it out for you flashman then pm me and I'll be happy to accommodate.

I have a client who called me out to look in to an issue she has with a shower. She, or rather her husband, suspected a leak in/on/around the shower. The first thing I did was check the grouting for signs of cracks/gaps but it looks 100%, as do the tiles which are a porcelenosa type. The shower tray is also sound with no discernible signs of movement. The shower is on the ground floor in an extension built some 8 - 10 years ago. It is a quadrant type tray and enclosure set against an outside wall and a solid internal wall. The shower valve is fitted on the internal solid wall and is recessed with a hidden outlet. All the internal corners have been resealed with good quality sealant as have the internal vertical wall plates for the enclosure and the shower valve & outlet plates. A pencil line was drawn around the marks which were solely to the left of the enclosure and we waited to see if they progressed. They did. We got a damp specialist in who confirmed it wasn't rising damp but did get a damp reading with his meter. Like me, he checked the other side of the solid internal wall for signs of damp as we both had the opinion that had this much water escaped and was present to the left of the shower (and now showing to the right as well) then it would be showing signs of damp/moisture on the opposite side, especially as most internal blocks act like a sponge, but there was nothing. Completely dry. The only other thing I thought it may be would be a type of efflorescence within the plaster. A quick web check showed me that it cold well be this so I have 2 questions; 1 - How do we prove that it is efflorescence, and 2 - How do we treat it? Thanks as always, Doc

Perhaps you'd like to give me the benefit of your wisdom and say why you think my post was a poor point badly made. Or maybe it is just your usual rhetoric of which we see so much of on here flashman.

Allow me to explain my point. Firstly, I wasn't making any political statement. It is my opinion and nothing more. Penelope was on the right track but it was the Bremainers it was aimed at for they have done whinging on an unprecedented magnitude which, in my opinion, showed them as being intolerant and anti-democratic. Therefore I feel it has every justification that, given those who have given their lives to defend democracy, it would be seen as hypocritical that they shoould choose to wear a poppy. The fact that you choose to attack my opinion and call it crass simply bolsters the point. How can you say you wear your poppy with pride when people like you attack so vehemently those with a different opinion to that which you hold? The fact you have lost relatives in conflicts is something that no one should endure but, sadly, they do which ought to lead to a greater understanding of the value of democracy and tolerence and not a closed mind to views and opinions of others. 1100 hours is looming so I will pay my respects to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

Today is Remembrance Day, lest we not forget. I find myself wondering, of all those who have spoken with such vitriole of those who voted to leave the EU and the pro-Trumpers, how many will be wearing a Poppy and taking time out of their day today, and Sunday, to remember those who gave their lives defending democracy in wars and conflicts that arose out of intolerance.

Can anyone point in the direction of the above please? I'm fed up with my paperwork being a mess in the van so need a nice and neat way of filing it ready to take to the office and sort. I've had a quick web search and it brings up commercial vehicle racking. Also had a look at Staples to see if they do anything but drew a blank on both fronts. I don't like to use my diary as there can sometimes be over a weeks worth and it starts falling out which really annoys me. Any help from fellow mobile office dwellers would be appreciated.

I have a couple of dates coming up this season and have decided I ought to get fitted out for the occasion. I know I could probably do an internet search but I'd rather seek the advice of the tried and trusted members on here. What will be required and was is a typical outfit likely to cost. I know it won't be cheap but I'd just like an approximate idea of cost. Also, would it be worn on a beaters day or something less formal, as in usual beating garb as I understand it is usual to take it in turns to walk up and shoot and one would think shooting garb may get snagged/ruined. Applogies if this comes across as a bit of an obvious question but it comes from someone who is only just getting to understand all the protocol, etc. On posting this I just realised that the header should have had the first and second words changed around, or at very least a comma after the first as it stands so apologies for that before the grammar police pick me up on it.

I'm also in the camp of not putting any store in the old wives tales. Over the years I've observed most of them, with the berries being prevalent, but it just doesn't ring true. I think it boils down to something much more along the line of us wanting to find a pattern or meaning or belief in something but unfortunately I honestly don't think it can be any more accurate than it will/will not be a hard winter (delete as appropriate).

Don't forget to post what the actual problem was. It's always handy to keep abreast of such things for future reference. From what you described, I would probably be looking toward the pump first and foremost, assuming the boiler doesn't have air trapped in it. The Ri series have to be bled at the top of the heat cell. Bit of a design flaw in my opinion, as any air introduced in to the system, if the design of it isn't quite right, can potentially collect there.