Bobba

On a whim I thought about making my own knife from a kit. I’m not an engineer and have no equipment hence the thought about a kit. I was amazed at the price differentials. Some £10-£15, others £50-£150+ Presumably the difference is due to the quality of the steel etc. I’m interested in the more quality end with blades which hold their edge. Not sure yet whether fixed or folding blade. Does anyone have experience of knife kits and can offer recommendations please on manufacturer etc? Thanks.

There will be two occasions when you will enjoy your boat. When you buy it and when you sell. In between is a hole down which you throw money. With a buddy I have owned two RIBs over a twenty year period. The first a 5 mtr Chinook with a 70hp Suzuki, the second a 5mtr Humber with a 90hp Mercury. Diving RIBs. RIBs have GRP hulls so you cannot fold them to transport to the coast. You will need a trailer then somewhere to store it. If you put a towbar on your car tell your insce Co as it counts as a modification. Consider the towing weight limits for your vehicle. For a sea going RIB in my experience 10-12hp is not powerful enough against big spring tides. Minimum 40-45hp. You’ll need to consider whether you want a console setup with (steering wheel) or tiller engine. A GPS and radio is a must as are flotation devices for all on board. Certainly take a boat handling course most boat insurance policies now require it and some launch slips require proof of insce before they let you launch. Understanding tides is a useful add on. A RIB is an open boat exposed to the elements. You could look at a small’ish day boat with wheel house. Boats can be fun but always remember that the sea is unforgiving. Good luck

Our recycling system seems to work well. Weekly collection of black box (glass), green box (plastic and tins), brown bin (food). Fortnightly collection of the black bin. There is a garden waste bin at extra cost bu suspended at the moment due to lack of drivers. There are two recycling centres with odd / even car registration number plate days to even out the flow. I use the one at Avonmouth. Purpose built, it has a recycling shop (volunteers) and the guys that man it are really helpful. We store garden waste in one of those builders sand / gravel cubes ant take it there regularly. There can be glitches now and then on the whole it’s quite good. So a thank you to to all concerned. Some of us grew up with recycling post war. We had an aluminium bin for pig food, a hessian sack for paper and cardboard. Bottles had deposits on them which made you return them. Milk bottles were washed out and put outside for daily milk delivery. Carrier bags were brown paper re-usable and fruit etc was placed in brown paper bags. No plastic, recycle-able. And a bin for what was left.

Why not try downloading google goggles object recognition app or something similar. It takes a photograph of a given object and searches the web for that object. Not done it myself. It was just a thought.

Update. With many badger opinions I surveyed my defences. Lo and behold I found that a section of fence post pinned under a fence to prevent the dog escaping out under the fence had been dug out and pushed aside via my neighbours garden. More badger than fox. So will scour Amazon for trail cam satisfy my curiosity once and for all.

I’m 78 in Sept, my buddy will be 79. We’re more selective these days in what we do and in what weather, the less strenuous the better (I’ve two replacement hips). We sit in the hide exchanging the same tales we’ve probably told many times over the years but forgotten 😂😂 Probably a bit like Statler and Waldorf off the muppets. But hey, it takes us out into the countryside and gives us an interest. Just Keep Going while you can is my motto. Commiserations to those who’ve had to retire from the sport.

This wouldn’t surprise me. A street of tree huggers. Some years back I was reported for having a Larsen trap in the back garden for the magpies out on the allotments. Neighbours didn’t like what the magpies did to the birds but didn’t like what I did to the magpies 😂 It came to nothing. I’d be surprised if it was a badger. The garden is escape proof for the grandchildren’s border terrier so it would require an agile gymnastic badger to get in. However, our garage at the end of the garden (accessed by a lane) is set into the hill and I suspect a fox comes onto the flat roof from next doors garden (uphill from ours) and drops into the garden. A mate has used Scoot and Tiger Poo with some success so will give them a try. Thanks for your comments everyone.

We live in central Bristol and back on to an allotment notorious for foxes. Small holes have started to appear in the lawn and flowerbeds and plants are being uprooted. Mrs B is of the view that a number of small plants have disappeared! A neighbour has suggested it could be foxes digging for worms. Years back I inherited a tin of Renardine but this has all gone and is now banned. So, advice welcomed please on how to deter foxes and prevent further damage. Thank you.

Agreed. Worthy of consideration therefore is a gun I managed to buy 7 yrs ago: a Miroku MK 60 Lightweight 20 bore OU with 30" barrels. I've just double checked on the scales and it weighs in at 6 lbs. The downside for some is fixed chokes at 1/4 and 3/4 (but the nice Mr Teague changed that to multichoke) and the but plate is thin plastic which I changed to a 1" recoil pad. Great little gun.

My farming friend has introduced me to this App from the App Store. Quite impressive in measuring field lengths eg from roads, etc. Recommended. Sorry for odd layout of OP. Still can’t get the hang of smartphones!!!

Agreed. I’ve an ages old 9mm blank firing frontier colt. It achieves diddly squat scaring pigeons. Blanks aren’t cheap.

Good Clue. Google images and it does look like Annual Yellow Sweet Clover. A weed. Many thanks.

There has been a sudden growth of this plant in an area of our garden. I was in two minds to just dig it out as a weed, but my head gardener (Mrs B) wonders whether it is a flower. So I thought I would consult before digging it out and upsetting the Head Gardener!! Any ideas anyone? Thank you.

The fast heating ring on an electric hob cracked. It was not cost effective to repair. Under the extended guarantee we were give a “gift card” 😂 to present at Curry’s towards a replacement hob. The value covered the hob plus the unused portion of the guarantee and was acceptable. When we selected a replacement hob Curry’s charged us £90.00 to fit it. We complained that we were not buying a new hob where fitting costs would be appropriate. Curry’s were replacing a hob which they supplied, which went wrong and they should carry the refit costs not the customer. The asst Manager said he had no option but to charge and to take our case to their guarantee dept and if they agreed they would give us another gift card and he would refund the money. Before we complain I thought I would consult PW colleagues to see if anyone has knowledge of consumer law etc to strengthen our case. I can find plenty of advice of problems post delivery etc of new items but not an item 2yrs old and under a guarantee. We will be adding that this problem is not for the first time. We had a similar hob about 3 1/2 yrs ago. It too went wrong. Was replaced and that time no fitting costs were charged by Curry’s. So, we have a precedent but it would be helpful to have consumer law chapter and verse to support our case. All advice welcomed. Thanks.

Gosh, memory lane. From aged 15-21 (now 78) I fished regularly with my Father and on occasions would take a pike for my grandfather to eat. He loved them. Indeed, the then rod licence used to specify what fish you could take and size by specie. Long out of coarse fishing I somehow presumed that those days had gone. But, if I am reading things correctly, I was surprised to read that anglers are still allowed to take fish from the rivers. “Freshwater Rod Fishing Rules” on Gov.co.uk website state that on a daily basis anglers may take 1 pike (up to 65 cms), 2 Grayling (30-38 cms), 15 small fish (up to 20 cms). Eels must be released alive. Perhaps, to preserve stocks, it should now be the case that all fish should be released alive.

Same thoughts, although Henry d says it is the property that has the two figures. So, I would speculate the gross as being it’s value for probate purposes and net is less any charges / mortgages which may need to be redeemed once the property is sold

Hi, “back in those days” depend on how old you are!! I’m sure some on here (and I’m one of them) are old enough to remember the controversy / speculation surrounding Tamara Press the Russian women’s discus world record holder 1960-67. There was much speculation as to whether she was secretly a man or intersex. For such events there has been sex verification in the olympics since 1968 . So, one can only assume that people in such categories have passed those tests

Nostalgia. Found at the back of one of my book cases. It must date from about 1970. It contains interesting lessons from that time eg how to cast with a centre pin reel !! A present from my Dad. So, fond memories as we fished together regularly.

How about a silhouette of a bird of prey bluetacked to the window? Or if you have any crow decoys place them where the intruder sits. (Although this could have the opposite effect 😂😂) “Other songbirds etc species” This is a tricky one I think. As I recall, the GL in earlier years once said “for the the protection of songbirds”. However, GL40 is now specific “to conserve endangered wild birds” and these are listed. So, if challenged it would be necessary to state which endangered bird was being protected. Looking at the list I would say I’ve seen song thrushes recently. Nobody could contradict you. Even if the complaint had not seen one it doesn’t mean that there were none in the area!!

The thread size may be in the owners handbook. It is for my Miroku.

Not sure if this has been covered before. Couldn't find it. So here goes. Despite GDPR et al, our wonderful Government has given the NHS permission to share all your personal health data with a 3rd party and sneakily not told anyone. You can however opt out should you wish to. Go tohttps://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/ where you can find information on how to opt out. You will need your NHS number. Not giving my data to some multi national where I have no say over how it is used.

My left ear is the most damaged. In the early sixties I set out to be a rock and roll legend (without success). Behind me on stage were my two 30 watt amps and to my immediate left a PA column of 4 x 12” speakers blaring at some 75 Watts into my left ear. Add to this a bass amp, Hammond organ and a crash and bash drummer then the three nights a week over 6 years took their toll. Hence my left ear damage. Firing shotguns since has added to the problem and the audiologist confirmed that RH shooters suffer predominantly in their left ear. I have a NHS hearing aid in each ear. They’re pretty good except the sound has a distinct echo to it. I’m told you can get hearing aids with mini speaker type ear pieces but they’re expensive (£1,000+ an earpiece). Does anyone have any experience of this type of kit?

Aaah, sorry Dave, It’s just dawned on me. It wasn’t Normandy but the Mulberry unit you were enquiring on. But sadly, yet again, I have no info on the actual unit. The dive club used to dive Penzance most Easters as did other clubs and rather like stamp collectors we often swapped GPS No’s with fellow divers for good wreck dives. One asked me if I had No’s for the Moidart or Alisa Craig in Lyme Bay for which he would swap the Mulberry unit. Never heard of it but it was a good swap. Nothing much on the outside but brittle starfish and concrete but entry via large cracks the inside was a fiesta of cold water corals and mechanical pumps etc. I’ve still got the No’s if anyone wants to dive it Bob

Hi Dave Sadly not. Suggest you search “museums at Arromanches” and see if they’ve websites perhaps with further links. When the travel ban lifts it’s a worthwhile DIY tour staying in guest houses in the “Logis de France” system. Relatively inexpensive. My starting point was internet searches of WW2 places of interest Normandy then build your own tour. That should also include WW2 cemeteries which are very moving. Bob

Some years back we spent a few days driving the Normandy coast from Cherbourg to Le Havre stopping at many of the well known beaches, some where mulberry units still protruded above sea level, and visiting museums. There are some good museums, particularly in Arromanches. One museum shows continuous footage of military films from numerous sources stitched together into one long story. Extremely moving indeed and very thought provoking. Worth a visit. When travel is again permitted I think I will visit the D Day memorial when calling on friends in Normandy. To my mind the memorial captures the determination to succeed. I’ve visited the mulberry unit in Penzance bay many times. It lies in 50 Mtrs of water! Fascinating piece of engineering.