Blackpowder

Sounds like a brilliant idea to me JD. Then she might have something to complain about. Blackpowder

Pigeon are very scarce in the Scottish Borders. My Club who hold Charity Roost Shoots from the first Saturday in Februry to the end of April are down around 200 birds compared to last year. On Saturday past the bag was a mere 32 birds from granted a difficult shoot but even so few birds were seen. Decoying is no better, due to the wet Autunb there was very little oilseed rape sown, but plenty stubbles where some birds were seen feeding. Seed time should have brought a bonus but a field which yeilded 160 to 3 guns on an afternoon two years ago only produced 6 this year under similair circimstances. We are finding that birds are reluctant to come to decoys and in the above situation 2 years ago every pigeon that came within sight made a beeline for the decoys, this year you would actually think the pigeon were avoiding the sets. Overall birds are in very good condition, plump with some fat on the breasts, oddly only those which have found a beanfield have crop contents, most a few grains of seed barley or a few leaves of green stuff. Blackpowder

As a self employed plumber, albeit three years past retirement age I have never found work so scarce. Last year I turned down five newbuilds as I did not want to be over busy when there are pigeons to shoot and fish to catch. Well it has all backfired the little bits and pieces I was looking for to give me 10 to 20 hours a week are just not forthcoming. Worse still back trouble has prevented me making the most of the idleness with visits to the rape fields and river banks. Bah! Blackpowder

As a self employed plumber, albeit three years past retirement age I have never found work so scarce. Last year I turned down five newbuilds as I did not want to be over busy when there are pigeons to shoot and fish to catch. Well it has all backfired the little bits and pieces I was looking for to give me 10 to 20 hours a week are just not forthcoming. Worse still back trouble has prevented me making the most of the idleness with visits to the rape fields and river banks. Bah! Tweedsider

With more than a fair share of herring gulls in our town, sitting on lamp posts , roofs , parked cars, boat wheelhouses etc,all seem to have plenty of berths without resorting to perching on trees. A reliable source however reports that during the recent bad weather gulls actually killed two feral pigeons, something I have never seen before- has any one else here come across this? Blackpowder

Front page headline in the same newspaper is"£100M COST OF BENEFIT JUNKIES", in other words the tax payer is subsidising the users and dealers. Totally insane in my opinion. Blackpowder

Just read in my Scottish Daily Mail a news item from Blairgowrie you could not make this up. This guy who had seen the devastation caused by drugs to his family, entered the dealers house while addmittingly in a drunken state, seized the dealers supply and flushed it down the toilet. Result two months in jail for Peter Drummond while it remains unclear if Tayside Police are going to take action against the dealer. Blackpowder

If they are really living that life, that woman will be exhausted, certainly we are not seeing her at her best. What struck me about the three presenters they seem to have been well coached in the part they are playing. Certainly beats a whole lot so called reallity TV which seems populated by a poor selection of the country's h**rs and comic singers who would never survive on a Victorian Farm. Blackpowder

I see Carol Thatcher has been dismissed by the BBC for mentioning the word ,"golliwog" in a private conversation. At the same time an overpaid nincompoop , who cannot even pronounce his 'r' s has been reinstated to a multi million pound salary despite taking part in a scandalous broadcast. Is it time for the BBC to be disbanded? Blackpowder

Deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolances on your loss, having been along a similair road in December 07 I know to some extent how you must feel. Blackpowder

I lived with my grandmother for all my early years and I can well remember wash day with the barrel and , ' post stick', hard labour indeed although the lady in question lived until her 90th year. Frosty breath in the bedroom, and frost flowers on the window were a feature of every winter. Never worked a hand driven turnip cutter but fed plenty into a similair machine driven off a small Lister or Petter engine. I do regret having missed a large part of the programme but hope to catch the rest this week. It will be difficult getting every detail right, the original steam thrashing machines were barn installed with corn having to be led to them, often a blessing in wet weather as there was work for the farm hands indoors until the supply of sheaves had been thrashed, so I have been told. Blackpowder

Is this an urban myth," Last week at a shoot a guy was telling the company that if ten of you got together and put £10,000 each into the kitty and ordered under one name you could get 10 Range Rovers for this price". Really cant see it my self but the teller of the story was adamant the person who told hime was seriously trying to get another 9 people interested. Blackpowder

Make sure if it is a heating system you are working on it has not been treated with anti- freeze. There may be a label on the boiler or header tank to this effect. Blackpowder

Refering to uncocking a hammer gun on loaded chambers, I have always found that when cocking or uncocking the thumb gets a much better grip on the hammer when the barrels are pointed vertically to the sky. Blackpowder

Just now I am in the market for a second hand .243 rifle to take out the occasional roa deeer on our shoot. I do not want to spend a fortune, so have any members any advice on the purchase of s S/H rifle of this calibre. Blackpowder

I have just been reading Yahoo News on the Net, headlines are,' animal activists are up in arms because Prince Edwaard allegedly broke up a dog fight on a Shoot using a stick'. The usual lies have been trotted out, note Yahoo is no better than any other part of the media in this and have not asked anyone involved in gundog training or shooting of their opinion. Yet they have talked to a B Hugill of the League Against Cruel Sports, who spouts this gem, "People in field sports tend to show a complete disregard to the welfare of animals. He has truly set a sickening example." Well Mr Hugill two points, the gundog owners who I know put their dogs welfare before their own. Point two the last time I saw someone trying to break up a dog fight with their hands emerged with a Border Terrier firmly fastened to his arm . from the Border terrier hung a Jack Russel and from that Jack Russel a further Jack Russel. You break up a dog fight with your bare hands at your extreme peril. Disgruntled blackpowder

Nice one jcbruno it must have taken you a considerable amount of effort to assemble all these pics and clips. Congrats on a good job well done. blackpowder

Corgi Registration is only required for gas fired appliances, be they natural( mains gas) or propane/butane etc from bottle or tank. Most boiler breakdowns are electrical or electronic rather than mechanical, definately a job for the qualified be the boiler gas or oil fired. Blackpowder

Yesterday I recieved an E Mail from a shooting friend which appears to haqve originated at Savilles, I have been unable to forward this for some reason but the gist is as follows. Among other things this Christmas some police forces seem to be targeting obvious shooting vehicles, especially after lunchtime and producing the breathaliser. Also a vehicle with two shooters in it was stopped and both occupants breathalised, it appears as if the force in question was trying to make a case that the passenger was unfit to have a shotgun license as he failed the roadside test. Have any other forum members come across this? Blackpowder.

Precious few enquiries in the plumbing trade bignoel, are politicians thick? Put up the price of fuel and you put up the price of everything. Would you buy a second hand car of that creepy guy with the black eyebrows? No! Blackpowder

About one inch here in the coastal eastern Borders, guys on one of the salmon fishing forums are taking about severe weather in the Highlands and predicting an early start to the Scottish skiing season- once the roads are opened up. Blackpowder.

The opinion around here, be it true or be it false is that pigeons do not like the strain of oil seed rape grown for industrial purposes. Has anyone else heard this ? Blackpowder

Mmm I see it is fairly wide spread. In an old fashioned ideal world you might have thought that a Transit pickup loaded with scrap heading along a country lane in the early hours would be a bit iffy. Still I suppose the officers of the law, where they exist on night duty, may be forbidden to stopp and question the occupants of such vehicles in case it breaches their human rights. Down in deepest Melton Mowbery I have a friend whose wife heard a noise in the kitchen and looked through to see a hoody heading out the door with a large bunch of house and vehicle keys. His companion in the usual black long cab pick up reversed at the lady to deter her efforts to stop them, aye scum is to good a word. All change with locks for that family and a very chilling experience. Blackpowder.

Just heard of a farmer being assaulted in the Central Scottish Borders by two masked hooded men. The rumour is that currently there is large scale theft of metal gates and even cattle grids for scrap value. Is this happening in your area? Blackpowder