Jonsey

I agree with with University route, however I was lucky enough to go when we didn't leave with massive overdrafts. I couldn't begin to imagine how hard it is now. You will leave with much more than a degree and it does give you a certain discipline which you will carry with you. You have to work hard and the other benefits are fun. It's a small amount of time on the grand scheme of things whether you do 3 or 7 years. Or simply take a year out and go next year. You don't have to go backpacking, see if you can get some farm management work perhaps, get a little something under your belt before you go to Uni. I didn't quite have the expierience at Uni that everyone else did because I lived at home for part of it and then got myself a flat. Don't get me wrong I still had a great time but studying and living in the same town isn't as much fun as moving away.

I’ve just spent a few hours reading all the past threads on rats and it’s very interesting. We’ve been suffering with rats since last summer when they were driven down from the meadow and Thames during the summer floods. We have always suffered with mice, the house is a couple of hundred years old and they get in somewhere invisible to us but there are many places in which they could. We’ve always just set traps and we have a few places where we find nests which we remove sometimes with babies in. Then we noticed we hadn’t caught a mouse for ages so just assumed they weren’t coming indoors. A little while later we realised we had rats coming in somewhere near the downstairs bathroom and bedroom and into the loft space in the single storey part of the cottage. We know they were rats by the size of the poo. Also we found a rats nest under the bath. Reading back over the old threads I now realise that rats drive mice out so that’s why we weren’t catching any as normal. Anyway we’ve resorted to poison, the house is so old and there are so many places they could be getting in, we just can’t tell where. The back of the house is all shrubs and bushes and little runs are not immediately visible. We have filled up some holes around pipes but where the roof meets the walls is probably where they are getting in. We’ve had a couple of dead poisoned ones in the downstairs loft which we’ve removed. We’ve also set some bait at the back of the kitchen and utility cupboards which they eat initially but now they aren’t coming anywhere near. That in itself is puzzling. Last summer we did have a bit of fun with the air rifle, lordy they jump as much as three feet with a good head shot. We sat on the patio with a gin and tonic over a few nights, got a little squiffy and popped a few off but now we don’t see them so much outside. I was reading in an old thread that ferret poo might work to deter them and was wondering if any of you had tried it? Or have had rats in the house and been able to deal with them ok. I’m not scared of them at all and to be honest they don’t really bother me but I don’t want an infestation so need to get rid. I know they are wandering around at night because the collie sometimes goes bezerk and wakes us up. It can only be rats taunting her. We’ve considered the ultra sonic plug-in things but then found a forum (there’s one for everything) and the general feeling there was that they were rubbish. I won't waste £40 finding out for myself. So ferret Poo, what do you think? Jonsey

Happy Birthday Hope you've been treated to something nice.

Happy Birthday hope you've had a good day so far.

Nah come on chaps, don’t tell me you've never opened the bathroom cabinet and picked up the small pot of your Wife’s moisturiser and tried a little bit, then later think ooh that’s made my skin lovely and soft. Incidentally, the moisturiser that your wife tells you is £4.99 is nothing of the sort and probably cost more than a slab of cartridges.

I never thought I was squeemish until I watched an episode of Children's Hospital one day. Perhaps it was because they were operating on a small child I don't know, but I was out of the house for fresh air within a nanosecond. I think it's something you can get used to, like you train the brain to disassociate yourself from it. Until you get used to it, gut the pheasants sitting down then if you pass out you haven't fallen very far

When we moved offices last year I had a little tin of Gin and Tonic on my desk which had been a present and which the office movers drank and replaced it with a can of Special Brew....it's now 9 months out of date and there's no way I'm going to drink it. So Flash I will kindly donate it to your night out........... I've just noticed there's a customer helpline number on the tin, if you get yourself in a bit of a state just call it and they'll sort you out, get you home and tidy you up that kind of thing. Good luck.

He had to be the most ungrateful and ungracious guest they've ever had on that programme. I got so angry. After Nick Nairn had produced his Warm Duck Salad which I have to say looked splendiferous, Bill Oddie said he wouldn't eat it because he may know the duck personally (***) then said Wildfowlers can't identify species in flight that is why so many of our rarer birds are shot. Nick Nairn immediately jumped in and said that in his opinion they did know and that Bill was wrong. They then had a heated debate around shooting only what you need for the table. Nick Nairn's last comment before they went to another subject was it's important to eat what you shoot. Thankfully the little fat **** didn't have the last word. He wouldn't eat the beef either that the other Chef cooked. Now, I wouldn't normally vote on one of these programmes. I have only don't it once on Stirctly Come Dancing when it looked like Mark Ramprakash was going out but I voted today to send Bill Oddie to food hell. I couldn't risk him getting the food he liked so I voted twice and I rang my Dad and he voted too. He doesn't like him either. Thankfully he was sent to food hell so I felt slightly happier. Nick Nairn spoke out to defend Wildfowling so gets a thumbs up.

Blinking hilarious. No idea what on earth he's on about, he's barking mad. Saying that out of two I'd give him one :unsure:

Why not indeedy. Doveridge this year for the British Open August 8th -10th or there's the English Open at Southern Counties June 20th to 22nd. They're never over subscribed so we can all decide nearer the time.

I’ve dabbled in the odd registered skeet, very enjoyable and frustrating in equal measures. I agree with Cat and Martin, it’s considered very bad form to move to the next station whilst others are still shooting. I think it says somewhere in the rules you should remain behind the peg until all shooters have completed the station. Anyway it’s off putting and unfair especially if someone is on for a good score. Other than that and calling for your Station 4 pair then really it’ll just be the same as shooting at your local club. Pin if you can shoot 89 straight then go for it and have a good time, if you’re lucky enough to join a good squad you’ll learn something. I once went to Barby in Rugby for some skeet and ended up on Neil Faulkner’s squad. To watch him shoot was very interesting, made me realise just how wooden and clunky my skeet style was. Actually all the squad were ex HI team members so every one of them had a fantastic style apart from one that started from a squat position. I laughed at the high five thing when they got a straight but I joined in their fun. I obviously didn’t have cause to high five them on my round. Pin, shall we add you to our squad for the British Open Skeet this year? I’m definitely going to get some serious practice in this year beforehand. Cat, shall we still say £1 a clay to the winner? I think I could pip you this year and win my money back

Yep I've got a facebook account, my little cousin kept sending me requests to join and then got all her uni mates to send me requests so I joined just to shut her up. Got a whole 7 friends. :blink: It's quite good fun. I have the highest security level set and there isn't any information on there you can see without me accepting you as a friend. I can see why parents are concerned though, people can send you things, virtual presents and super pokes without being your friend just being in the same network is enough for that . I wouldn't like a child of mine to be unsupervised using it.

Ha ha ha Sierra Saphire, brilliant. What in the name of gordon's dry gin did they do that for. Poor kid. I work in Reading town centre and often hear the Chardonnay's and Kylie's being screamed across the shopping centre. Don't suppose it'll be long before there's a Pinot Grigio :blink:

Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear NTTF Happy Birthday to you I just sang this to make sure it worked and really it doesn't unless you say the TT very quickly and place the longer emphasis on the F. Office is empty BTW so singing was fine. :blink:

My parents didn't pay quite enough attention to my name as I would have liked. My maiden name was Potts and my first initial is S. I used to get letters addressed to Miss Spotts all the time and I swear most of them were bored people in admin departments who knew but wanted to have a laugh to brighten their day. And of course I was called Spots all though school. B) One of my very good friends is called Alistair **** and he suffered in school and even now gets a snigger or two when he says his name. So his kids didn't suffer the same way he kindly added 'son' to the end of their names. :o

I recorded it and watched it yesterday and I think it was an excellent programme. Agree with all the points you made Mungler. I was far more balanced and not melodramatic like HFW. Even Mr Jonsey who thinks Jamie Oliver is a lady boy thought the show was imformative, well presented and thought provoking. He had a good cross section of 'customers' having dinner and i think he got his message across without resorting to scare/disgusted tactics. 10/10 from me for that. I'm also in agreement with Mrs Mungler, I think he'll be measuring up for a Waitrose uniform soon. Heard a quote the other day that made me laugh out loud. "I love sainsbury's it keeps the riff raff out of Waitrose" EDIT You know when you make yourself an egg sandwich at home, you slice the egg and there's always white without the yolk on a couple of slices it's not the best bit so you use one and then give the other bit to the begging dog.......then a few days later you are rushing between meetings and run into Upper Crust or somewhere similar and buy an egg and tomato and there's never any slices of white without the yolk. I know why now...it's the Long Egg. *** was that?

Funnily “large bottomed lady†didn’t annoy me on last nights programme at all. Her arguments were weak granted and she’s bolshy however she didn’t roll over and just say yes 50p extra per person is very good and I’ll definitely buy free range from now on. She stuck to her guns and said NO I’m not prepared to spend any more money. (She could do something about her hair though). The others were all yes yes, lovely only 50p that’s brilliant and then next week they’ll be back on the two for a fiver at Tesco so they can have a couple of bottles of white lightening cider for the weekend. The estate people are doing a great job with those chickens, they’re really getting into it and seem to enjoying it and most seem to understand they’re rearing half for the pot and half as layers. Although when it comes to slaughter time I’m sure there’ll be a few tears at bed time. I too noticed the shop opening at the same time and thought it was a very clever set up. But then he’s firstly a businessman or entrepreneur if you like and secondly a chef and thirdly The Chicken Saviour. Saying all this I do enjoy HFW shows and books, especially his books they’re so informative. Father Christmas brought me the Fish book and it’s excellent. He’ll never stop people being 2 for a Fiver but he will educate some which is a good thing.

Yes I stupidly got caught on that one too, just the once though. My MSN account name was changed to something very rude. Didn't realise until my Pops IMd me with a stern word later that day. now I sometimes even go back to check, it's worse than thinking you've left the iron on all day and worrying.

Cagney and Lacey theme tune. I stupidly left my phone unattended on my desk one day and then next time it rang I realised the chaps had cheekily downloaded it and set it. The scamps eh. I've kept it as it makes me smile.

Jerry you’ve made an excellent point there about learning how to cook it properly and using all of the meat over several days. We have to learn how to cook again like our parents and grandparents did. Hands up anyone that chucks the chicken carcass out (s’cuse the pun) on a Sunday night because I know I’ve done it many times. If I’m feeling particularly energetic I will use it for stock and freeze or make soup but to be honest it’s not every week. I’m short on time yes, but also I don’t make enough time for things. I’m very guilty of spending whatever time I have left of an evening relaxing. As you say, it’s investment of time and like most people I want to sit and be still when I can. Due to the nature of my work I also count time in terms of cost. Sad I know and I’m being brutally honest here but I think, hmmm how many man hours will that be and at what cost just to save a couple of pounds? I won’t be the only person to think that either. It’s the way that we have changed, or allowed ourselves to change perhaps. We are also very lucky on this site in that we shoot things for the pot and know the true value not only to our health but pocket of free range birds, rabbits etc. It’s education by hobby for most of us which is a privilege in my opinion. Pavman, I read in the paper before Christmas that game is more popular than it has been for years. Largely due to the exposure it gets from the TV Chefs I suspect. Again going back to learning how to cook, I suspect the vast majority of people aren’t sure what to do with game rather than disagree with how it’s procured. As long as the TV Chefs keep showing recipes then I think it’ll carry on it’s rise in popularity. The only thing I will criticise the Chefs for is using ingredients that aren’t found in the average Joes store cupboard. We need them to keep recipes simple. Mungler don’t sneak around you have the right to spend your stash however you like. I like to have choice don’t you? I’m very fortunate in that I can afford a choice but as you say some people can’t. Arh see now going veggie because of what they have seen. It's too shocking a thing for them to watch. I get it I really do, people don't want to brought down with a bump and see several thousands birds all cramped in together and then killed 39 days later. That's not getting people to make an informed choice about how they buy their food it's shocking them into making another ill informed decision. EDIT P.S Fretted all the way home on the train that any vegetarians may think I think it's an ill informed decision to be one. I did not mean it to sound that way. Apologies for any offence.

I thought last nights programme was very interesting. I did go into cringe mode when he was in the supermarket at the beginning challenging people on the two for £5 chickens. My immediate thought was that they were at least buying whole fresh chickens rather than frozen chicken nuggets or any other processed meats. It’s a tricky one and the initial message of the show was confusing because we want people to buy and cook unprocessed food, and the importance of a fresh balanced diet is pushed in advertisements and programmes on every channel almost every day. When he interviewed people on the street it was only then I think that some of the message came out, the big supermarkets have forced the small independent shops such as Butchers and Grocers out of business by being able to sell cheaper food which is intensively farmed. Chickens being his example, these large chicken farms are cramped have no natural light, only 30 minutes a day. Which in turn keeps them feeding for longer thereby getting them to slaughter in as little as 39 days and on our supermarket shelves a couple of days later. Fast food on a whole new level really. It certainly opened my eyes a little wider to chicken farms. I’m sorry I know this sounds negative but it won’t stop people from buying what suits their pocket. Also on the whole people are so removed from the countryside now that where the chicken actually came from doesn’t cross their minds. I think the message of cooking from scratch is getting through though which is an excellent start in my opinion. In terms of last nights programme our household would tick all of HFWs little boxes and I’d quite like to meet him although I must say I’m sure his condescending manner would annoy me. We do 80% of our shopping locally. We support the Butchers and the Grocers and a couple of other little shops in our village. We have our milk delivered the old fashioned way as well. On the whole it’s not cheap to shop locally and it takes quite a lot of discipline too especially in terms of choice. I would estimate our food bill for a week is perhaps as much as 30% more in total than a supermarket depending on what we buy. We also have an organic veg box delivery once a week and although that sounds a bit posh I’m not ashamed to say the only reason I started it was that I was short of time and anything I could have delivered to the door was a plus. I used to shop at the big supermarket once a week but then my job became a lot busier and I was out of the house sometimes 16 hours and my husband changed his job to a part time which meant all the housey jobs had to be taken on by him. He couldn’t hack the masses of people in the Supermarket or the time it took driving 11 miles there and back so decided to use the local shops. So our reason for shopping locally was really time more than anything and not a moral issue. Our opinion has changed now though as we have got to know our local shopkeepers and realise the importance they and their produce holds in our community. But it was really more luck than good judgement. It’s very easy for HFW to stand in front of those families on that estate and encourage them to eat free range and shop locally but if I were in a different situation than I am now and needed to support a family on a tight budget then I’d be down that supermarket getting my two chickens for £5. Simple as that, I wouldn’t let my family go without.

I have the dates for the 2008 shoots, Team Selection shoots and majors. They aren't all set in stone yet but it gives you the general idea. Here are the Sporting dates April 6th North Regional Selection Shoot Venue not confirmed April 20th SE Regional Selection Shoot. Southdown May 8th- 11th English Open. West Midlands SG May 25th SW Regional Selection Shoot Newnham Park June 4th – 7th Classic Sporting Venue to be confirmed June 22nd EM Regional Selection Shoot Grange Farm June 27th -29th World ESP Lakenheath July 27th WM Regional Selection Shoot Venue not Confirmed September 3rd – 7th British Open Southern Counties PM me if you want any of the other disciplines dates. Oh and the HI is 13th September Auchterhouse SG

One more sleep to go........... Merry Christmas to you all and I hope it's fun and enjoyable for everyone.

Oh you poor poor poor thing, sneezed last friday eh and been offski ever since. Whisky Macs are the answer.

Yes. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. I'm not back until the 7th either, bliss.