aldivalloch

I remember seeing these advertised in the JLS Arms catalogue as far back as the late 1960s. You'll find quite a lot about them on the Net - but the manufacturer is / was "Healthways", NOT "Heathway". If your friend amends the spelling he'll get what he's looking for.

So, by inference, anyone who commits an offence, regardless of the nature and circumstances, is thick? Gosh, by your reasoning my one and only speeding ticket must have had a catastrophic effect on my IQ. How nice to be so confident in your self-righteousness. Can't help wondering what colour the sky is in YOUR world, though. Anyway, I'm done and out. Sick fed up of the volume of prejudice and thinly veiled bigotry on "Off Topic", which seems increasingly to be the preserve of a group of individuals whose only participation in shooting is shooting their mouths off. Bye.

Fair enough. Just trying to square your description of the man you HAVEN'T met as a "racist simpleton" wIth my own summation, given that I HAVE met him and found him to be very personable, courteous and highly intelligent. But I'm sure you're right. Aren't you always?

Have you met him?

Well, well, the self righteous are out in force today. I presume that the OP is using the word Krankieland to refer to Scotland. That's where this project is being run. It was featured on the radio the other day, and the spokesperson interviewed explained that the intention is to sign up alcohol-addicted individuals to a programme which is designed to wean them off by controlling their intake in such a manner as to avoid them going into withdrawal. It was made abundantly clear that the cost of their alcohol is deducted from their personal means. If those means are benefits, so be it. It was made equally clear that experience so far of controlling the subjects' drinking is that it has taken significant pressure off the police and medical services which would otherwise have been required to deal with the fall-out from episodes of excessive drinking. I take great issue with the word "alkys". It's deeply disrespectful to fellow human beings who have become addicted to alcohol for a whole range of reasons - for example, abuse, relationship break-down, PTSD, mental ill-health. For the record, the farmer who gave me my first permission was an alcoholic who had been "dry" for a number of years. He's gone now but he was a dedicated family man, generous to a fault, and he knew more about the natural world than anyone I've ever met. So, to all you who have allowed your self-righteousness to ridicule this attempt to turn around the lives of your fellow men and women, what are you doing to help them? Got any constructive suggestions? Sitting on your smug backsides and directing your venom at them won't cut it. I wish you goodnight, and caution you to consider the adage, "There but for the grace of God go I."

Well, I spent last Christmas in Oslo where we had a few inches of snow and the temperature fell to -16⁰c. Didn't seem to be bothering the large numbers of electric cars that I saw on the roads at all times of the day.......

May I interrupt this apparent misogynistic Tory love-in to remind you all that, back at the beginning of August, Ms Truss described Nicola Sturgeon as "an attention seeker" who was "best ignored". Hardly a diplomatic and respectful attitude to - like it or not - the elected First Minister of one of the so-called equal partners in the Union.

Story from my late father:- When he was a young man, back in the 1920s, he became friends with the local bobby, who owned a motor bike and side-car. When they went "out for a shot" (poaching), dad drove the bike whilst the bobby deployed his 12 bore from the side-car. The bobby always wore his uniform, and on any occasion they were intercepted by keepers he would leap from his chariot, (in which he had carefully covered up his gun and "bag"!), put on his cap and declare, "Aye, indeed, I heard shots fired somewhere here, and I'm investigating. You can leave this to me!"

I presume these comments apply to elections in England. In Scotland candidates get NO expenses. Nothing from the public purse - in fact the amount they're allowed to spend, whether from their own pockets as independents or from party funds, is strictly capped. And the "guff" that comes through your door is the candidates' attempts to set out their respective stalls by telling you what they hope to achieve if elected. If you can't be bothered to read it and vote, you've no right to moan about the next administration. And if you're REALLY bothered you can always stand for election yourself.

Daily Star? Brian Blessed? The nation's first resort for in-depth political analysis....😅😅😅😅😅😅

This sums it all up beautifully. I still have somewhere in the house an American publication from the 1970s which carried some discussion on the emerging use of heavily-loaded small-bores on wildfowl. Referring specifically to the 3" 0.410, a distinguished shooter of the era described its use as smacking of "cynicism" and "trick shooting". I'm off to my shelter now.

Actually a true 16 bore load which would shoot very well and comfortably out of a 6lb gun (preferably a side-by-side...). Can't understand this odd fascination for buying overweight small-bores and then blasting magnum-style loads out of them.

Gusts of 70 mph plus here for much of yesterday. Not much damage, really - anything susceptible to wind blew down or away long ago! Highest wind-speed I've experienced was here, back in (I think) December 2008 when we caught one of 124 mph, at sea-level. A friend saw it recorded on the instruments at the harbour.

That looks like a right good read, Townie. I, too, used to buy the Shooting Times but gave up my subscription in the late 1980s when it started to go downhill. It seems to have continued on that trajectory ever since, unfortunately. I've got a lot of books on shooting, acquired over many, many years, and find myself wondering what will happen to them when I'm gone. I don't think any of my family will want them. Does anyone feel that a separate sales section specifically for Field Sports Literature would be A Good Thing? Just a thought.

Sorry I haven't been any help to you. Will have a look in the local paper tomorrow (it's weekly), but don't hold out much hope.