Tricky

"Trading Places" Not really a Christmas movie, but it all takes place around Xmas.

Boing! Thanks for this. What great deals. Just bought my first tweeds, and a nice top for 'er indoors!

In short, you walk through stuff whilst holding a flag. If a bird flies up in your general direction, wave your flag to get it to fly a bit higher. You will probably be walking through crops, which may be quite high and quite wet. Here, the key is that all the beaters should normally stay in a straight line, unless told otherwise by the beat captain. You walk in a line to prevent birds running back through big gaps in the line. You're trying to flush the birds out, and over the guns. You might have to go through thicker stuff, for example, overgrown woodland. The idea of a line often goes out of the window, here. The main aim is to get birds up and over the guns. This may involve some crawling about, for the enthusiastic. Banging the trees with your flag will help, too. For these efforts, you should get at least one of the following three: A free lunch Some shot birds to take home Paid Try it, you might like it!

I shot 7 on Saturday, in the peeing rain, on barley stubble. 22,847

That's not true, any more. If the real watch has a swooping hand, the fakers can make the copy do the same. Just because the second hand "swoops", doesn't prove it's real.

"Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses. A real guilty pleasure. A song that's nearly 30 years old. A lead singer who's been dead for over a decade. And it still sounds fresh. I'm not ashamed to say I love it!

I read the thread, clicked away, then thought if ever there was a thread worth replying to, it's this. First of all, I'm new to PW and new to shot gun shooting. Primarily, I want information. I hoover-up knowledge on decoying. I look to learn from other's experience and mistakes in all shooting matters. I'm interested in how people got their permissions. I keep half an eye on whether there's any shooting going on near me. My experience of shooting is a couple of seasons beating on a rough syndicate, and about a year on the clays, on and off. With the occasional go at pigeons (not at the clay grounds!). And I went lamping for the first time, recently. And am looking to lamp about once a week from now on. So, I generally don't have an awful lot to add to most threads. But when I do, I chip in. That means that I read an awful lot more threads than I post on.

Sure, there's lots of choice. But if I can buy a good British product, I will. Aigle and Le Chameau are French. Muck Boots are American, aren't they? Which leaves Hunter (still made in Scotland), and what else? Anybody?

I recommend NOT doing what my mate did, after his. As they strapped him tightly into the reverse bungee, he told me he thought "I REALLY shouldn't be doing this" before they fired him into the stratosphere. Dear oh Lor'.

I wish I'd seen it. I bet my "Hey there, foxy lady" chat-up line would've been even more warmly received than usual.

Well done kingo for getting stuck in! I was at Three Acres on Sunday. I'm a new shooter, too, and go out on the clays most weekends. It was heaving over there, so I had my first go at Sporting Compact. Excellent fun, I loved it, paid for another round... and shot half as well. Practice makes perfect.

I'm fairly certain that you can't cross-out the "£" sign on your cheque and replace it with "Euro". PayPal is probably the easiest way. But if that's not an option, speak to your bank. They will certainly have a way to do it. But they will probably charge you something for doing it. I'd guess the charge would be about £10.

Although, if your guns are each worth only a wee bit more than the £1,500 single-item limit, you don't have to name them on the contents policy. If they were to be stolen, the insurance would still pay out £1,500 for each gun. You'd have to fund the difference, yourself, to replace them. It's a question I asked my insurer a few weeks ago.

for Allen Carr's book. I smoked 20-a-day for 10 years, from age 15. I eventually stopped by using willpower. That lasted a year. However, I met a girl who smoked, she moved in, and I was back smoking 20-a-day before I knew it. I smoked for another 5 years. Then I discovered Allen Carr's book. It didn't work for me, first time. I found myself not smoking, but thinking "I'm gagging for a fag". Then, when I lit one up, I'd think "This is DISGUSTING. What am I DOING?! I hate this". This went on for about six months. In that time, I read the book several more times. Now, I haven't smoked for about 6 years. I don't miss it. I wonder why I ever started in the first place. I feel a million times fitter. And I know I'll never smoke again. That's what Allen Carr's book gave me. That's a state of mind that I wouldn't have acheived with will-power alone. Because I didn't understand the psychology of smoking. Now I do, which is why I know I won't smoke cigarettes ever again. Yes, the book's repetitive. It has to be, to work its magic. Why not have a look here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-Easy-S...3666&sr=1-1 The book costs the same as a packet of fags, and you can even read the first few pages online. All the best with stopping smoking, and that goes for everybody.

You could take a leaf out of Homer Simpson's book and buy her a bowling ball. Engraved with your initials, so she'll always remember that it was from you. (Newbie, by the way. Hello, all!)