lord_seagrave

That makes a lot of sense, chaps, thank-you. Will update with pics when it goes nuclear! LS

Really appreciate all this advice - especially about the importance of handling. My concern is that Seagrave Jnr will be twice shy if bitten once. Off the Baldock next weekend to look at some more! LS

I had a good old chuckle at this: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/google-users-nonce-mass-confusion-b2081620.html?amp LS

Terrific - a wealth of knowledge. We trekked down to Stevenage to see a fella with his kits and had a very enlightening experience handling the parents. The kits were all reserved apart from one jill, but we were really there to suss (and sniff) it all out. Seagrave Jnr was in his element, which was good to see. We weren’t able to handle the kits as they were very nippy, which is what makes me think that a slightly older ferret might be less intimidating! At least we are coming into the game at the right time Will keep asking questions and seeing as many as we can. Happy to travel. Have invested in an enormous cage LS

Seagrave Jnr is convinced (I may, possibly, have planted the seeds with this one) that a ferret will make the perfect pet for him. Are we OK to keep a hob ferret by himself, or do they really need to be kept in pairs+? Despite years of pestering, we don’t have much combined experience of animal husbandry - are we better off getting an older animal, or starting with a kit? Opinions welcome. We’re in Bedford if there’s anyone local who fancies answering our noddy questions in person. LS

Chaps, as per title - 2 x standing tickets for Bowling for Soup Thursday 14th April at 7pm at Grimsby auditorium. paid £35 each, and no reasonable offer refused. Collection from Sutton on Sea, Lincs. LS

Unforgiven is an excellent film - huge, cinematic, and Richard Harris’s cameo is perfectly weighted. Three Burials is probably the only modern western that comes close in terms of size. (Not Clint Eastwood, I know) LS

Thanks, chaps. Really appreciate the advice - especially the listing nudge. May well have spared me some blushes. Will revert with pictures. LS

Morning all, New Seagrave Towers mkVI (or possibly mkVII, I’ve sort of lost count) is an 1830s property with a Grade II listing (which references the external appearance only). Anyway, there is a pretty grotty top floor spare bedroom, which has saggy pitched ceilings and is cold and miserable. Setting aside any listing hoops I might have to jump through, what sort of practical problems at I going to encounter if I attempt to replace the lath and plaster with plasterboard? What are my insulation options as I do? Im reasonably handy - is it even DIYable? Are there any reasons for repairing/restoring the lath and plaster, rather than replacing it? Cheers, as ever, LS

After years of pestering, the Seagrave household will finally be augmented by a few furry snakes and I couldn’t be happier. We’re in Bedford, so if there are any ferret fanciers nearby that will have kits this year, I’d definitely be interested in making contact. We’re in no rush. These will be pampered family pets rather than workers, and some advice would be most welcome too. LS

Yup - this LS

Sheet bend is a useful one for tying together ropes of different thicknesses. Fisherman’s knot is a good one to know for ropes of the same thickness. I’m always tying a round turn and two half hitches to branches and trees. Did two this afternoon even though the rope had a carabiner at the end! Trucker’s hitch is very handy - and looks pretty classy too BUT the best knot is that double shoelace knot that someone put on here years ago! I’ve tied my shoes that way ever since LS

Thanks chaps, I think I naively assumed there was some sort of electronic labour exchange/market place for this kind of thing. I’m willing to pay the going rate (can’t expect a stranger to do it for pocket money). I’ll have a mooch on social meedjah and see how I get on. Meanwhile, if anyone in Milton Keynes want half a day barrowing and raking topsoil on Friday - drop me a line! LS

I need an extra pair of hands on Friday for a landscaping job. Is there a safe and reliable way of getting a labourer for 5-6 hours? It’s not something I’ve needed to do before, but my usual cronies (mates who would do it for a bit of beer money) are otherwise engaged. LS

Helleborus is a great plant, and a nice clump of them with some support makes for a fabulous low-maintenance flora early in the year. Periodically inspect to remove any blackened or damaged leaves and cut them right back later in the year. As others have said, there is a beautiful range of dusky pinks and purples that look very exotic, but they are hard as nails and that clump will keep expanding year on year. LS

That’s right - and in strong Leave-voting constituencies, they will remember that the Tories did indeed do what they set out to do (we may be reaping the whirlwind now, but fair play, they did what was asked of them). Most interesting commentary out of the last few days came from the Mayor of Teesside, who spoke absolute sense on the importance of elected officers getting on and doing what they say they will do. He stood on a “Conservative” ticket, but is certainly not a Thatcherite Tory. He was picking and choosing “left” as well as “right” policy positions to improve the Teesside area. That’s what his electorate wanted and that what he stood to deliver. As others have said traditional class and philosophical divides over “Conservative” or “Labour” are far less important to voters today than they were in the past. LS

LS

Here in Bedford, my broad beans are just coming into flower. They were sown in October, and have been frozen solid half a dozen times (once to the point of almost no return), but are only a few days away from full flower. They are in a sunny walled corner of the garden, and I should have harvested them by the first week of June to make room for pumpkins 🤤 LS

My little corner of Seagrave Towers featuring all sorts of goodies - including a beech seed and a conked I found on a walk that had started to germinate. My favourite are about half-a-dozen Basque seeds that seem to have crossed with something, as they have purple cotyledons and a purple blush to the leaf edges as they are coming through. They grew next to some “Vampire” chillies that were 100% black, so maybe they were pollinated by those 🤷‍♂️ LS Basque x

Chaps, if anyone need pumpkin seeds, hit me up for a little baggie. I’ve got all sorts of culinary squash I want to try, and I reckon I’ve actually only got room for 3-4 plants. I must have a thousand seeds in different varieties from successful accidental crosses and saved named varieties. Looking for tomato seeds this year - ideally early-ripening large-fruited continental varieties. LS

But late to the party this year, but seedlings doing well. Lord knows I’m probably on some drug squad watchlist after ordering a grow-lamp from Amazon! My usual selection - big fruity warm Basque chillies, long thin Palivec goatshorn chillies, and some Apache that Des on here sent me a few years ago. I don’t know why I don’t just sow one to pot, because my germination rates have got to be 80-90%, and I cannot bear to pluck out any to throw away. I reckon there must be 50 seedlings that’ll need potting on tomorrow! This year, I’ve also sown some unspecified sweet peppers. Amazingly, these came free with a heated propagator that my wife bought me 10 years ago, and they have all come up (bar one). No idea what they’ll turn out like, but I just love growing stuff LS

My point is that PCCs are paid for by the Treasury, and that all the money that is wasted in these pointless elections and on the PCCs and their staff could be far better spent on actual police officers. I do not think that PCCs know more about policing priorities than the police themselves. Coppers love deterring crime and nicking criminals - they should have as much manpower and funding as they need to do it. If axing PCCs and the attendant admin will put even one more Constable on shift, that would get my vote. LS

Hi chaps, apologies for the radio silence of late. All OK, btw. I am not a ranter, but, I’ve just had polling cards through for the PCC election. Having had a look, the average salary for this position is nearly £100k, with average offices of 10 salaried staff. If any of the candidates truly cared about policing, they would get real jobs and donate their salaries and budgets to fund police officers and crime investigation/prevention (although, I dare say the Chief Constable would probably spend it on new flags for HQ and dancing lessons for Bobbies >shrugs<). Many of the candidates are ex-coppers/specials, so they surely understand that the police just want to get on with the Job? Turnout for PCC elections is some of the lowest recorded. Factor in the costs of holding the elections themselves, and I cannot understand how these roles can be justified. LS

This is heart-breaking. We’ve been working so hard to try and get enough together to enjoy a few days with the family. it cannot have been decided lightly, but the cruelty of it is unbearable. LS