stripey999

Mines called Bagel... shes a Beagle.

I was in charge of the money in Kabul for British military. I had $4,000,000 on an average day with about £50k sterling. One day I made a chair out of all the dollar bundles and sat in it like a fat cat. Didn't feel like real money though.

Welcome to PW... and Gloucestershire.

I have worn over ear aides for a few years and so glad I do. My hearing was damaged in the forces but I never really noticed as it happened over a long period. Your GP has to refer you then the hospital test and decide if you need them or not. I lost the higher frequency sounds and a fair bit of lower ones. The technician plugs the new aides into a PC and there is a graph showing the range that you can hear. The technician then adjusts the aid to allow you to hear the frequencies and volume that you have lost. Absolutely brilliant but for the first few days, having a pee is terrible. The sound of pee hitting the water in the loo was deafening. For the first few months they encouraged me to drop in for adjustments. The aid picks up sound from front and back and I couldn't tell where sound was coming from as it seemed to be all round me. I had them adjust the pickups so that I pick up 60% volume from the front and 40% from the rear. Now I can tell where the sound comes from. The loop at home sounds great. I use Howard Leights for shooting. The NHS aides don't like water (or sweat) so Howard leights are great for shooting but I am deaf when beating. NHS gave me one for each ear and supply the tubes free whenever I damage them but the aide itself is £70 if damaged or lost. Batteries last about 10 days and they are free from hospitals or chemists.

Welcome flyboy

Jesus, I did 28 years and got out 2 years ago. Better check my insurance policies!

I wear Howard Leights too, brilliant bit of kit. On a daily basis I have to wear hearing aides in both ears as a result of hearing damage from the forces. When I am shooting I use the electronic Howard leights which allows me to have normal conversations (the volume takes the sound up higher than normal conversations so great for those like me with hearing problems) and when a shot is fired the sound is greatly reduced to a thud.

Nice bag well done.

I was told by my old fella not to volunteer for things when I joined up. Ignored his advice and volunteered for every course and trip I could. I had a great time and long career. Just be a little weary when on a course and they ask for volunteers... I remember on one early course that the instructor asked if anyone had a driving licence. Shot my hand up in the air as quick as lightning... great he said, get the brews in, doh.

Mate... I don't know much about the back nipple, but you need to sort your pubes out... they're growing up your back!

It is amazing how much cheek some people have. I have been shooting with a mate for about 5 years that I met through PW; turned out he lives just down the road from me. I don't have permission of my own (despite knocking on the doors), so really happy to go along on his when invited. He was good enough to ask one farmer if it was okay for me to go to one farm on my own (which farmer said yes to). In my wildest dreams I wouldn't think of going behind someone's back to steal anyone else's permission. It can backfire on you AND your mate. I have moved around quite a bit with work and before moving, always took others out on my permissions to gauge peoples integrity. When I was sure someone was trustworthy, I would let the farmer know that I was moving away and recommend the one person that I felt would not let him down. You have to wonder about the integrity of these people and their suitability to have a licence!

I use HL too. I wear hearing aides but leave them at home when shooting as the Howard Leights does a similar job. Never had any interference. I have connected mine to my mobile and at other times connected to walkie talkies. I can't ever remember any interference.

That was an unbelievable shock Phil. Considering the amount of tablets you and I take, you would have expected Lewis to be carrying our kit for loads of years to come! He was the most healthiest, fittest bloke around here. Such a shocking shame and a real nice bloke too. I can't imagine what his wife is going through. As for your brother-in-law, if there's anything I can do to help, even if it's to take the dogs out for a walk to give you breather, don't hesitate, I'll be there.

We have a Beagle and a snake but the unusual pets are two Axolotls. An Axolotl is a salamander that is in a permanent juvenile state. They are both white and their unusual trait is that they can regrow their limbs! we now have to keep them in seperate tanks because the larger one keeps biting the leg off the smaller one and eats it. It takes months for the leg to regrow back.

I am unfortunately wearing 2 hearing aides, not age related but hearing lost through shooting and other noise related activities. I now use the Howard Leight ear defenders as they amplify the sound (so can leave the hearing aides at home) and dampen the shot sound. Mine were from ebay but from a seller in the states and delivered for £34 in about 8 days.