lxtav

That would be telling but I expect lots of brownie point for it as she had dropped enough hints about it.

Why oh why did I decide to go Christmas shopping on a Saturday to get my wife's present. I changed jobs this year and went from working shifts to working weekdays 8am - 4pm so I have lost the great joy of being able to go to the shops during the week when everyone else is at work. I detest people who continue to look at stuff blocking the shop up even when you try to get past, politely say excuse me and they look at you as if you have two heads. I hate having to stand in a massive queue around the shop to get to a till and it really winds me up when someone stands there keeping a place in the queue while their pal goes off to finish their shopping so they can jump most of the queue when they finish. I know I could have gone online but its hard for it to be a surprise when the wife is in most of the day and would get handed it by the postman. Should have stuck to the petrol station on Christmas eve.

Got back from work today to find an envelope with a police post mark on it which contained my SGC (already had one) and a new co-terminus FAC. Got everything I asked for which wasn't much, A FAC air rifle and Mod for the bunnies on my land and a 22RF target rifle. The FAC appears to be open as well as one of the conditions is The 22 AIR RIFLE and the .22 SOUND MODERATOR and ammunition shall be used for shooting vermin and ground game and zeroing on ranges or land over which the holder has lawful authority to shoot. I know its only for a FAC air but I believe its getting pretty rare nowadays to get an open FAC on your first application. It also has an expanding ammunition condition even though I won't need it with a FAC air its nice to have it. They did lower my Ammo allowance to hold 600 buy 500 but as I can get it at the club it's not that big a deal.

Last week she came in from the field so lame it looked like it was the end for her. However she recovered after a few days box rest and when put out started bolting around the field again as if nothing had happened leaving us with the vet bill. The dictionary definition of a horse should just read Horse: Pain in the **** Money pit with 4 legs.

Got home from work the on Thursday to find that the horse had decided to lean over the fence to eat the grass in next doors field. There is an electric fence to stop her but it broke the other day (the horse seems to have a sixth sense for when it not on) so I was just waiting on all the bits to arrive so I could wire in a new mains energiser to replace the battery one we had. As a result she broke 8 fence posts and stretched the wire. So yesterdays jobs, instead of going shooting as I had planned to do, were getting 100 small square bales onto the trailer at my dads, bringing them over and putting them in our shed, dismantling the fence, replacing the broken posts and rebuilding it complete with the electric fence being sorted. Took all day but shed full of hay for the winter, fence sorted and electric fence zapping out a great voltage now to teach the horse not to lean over it. So all in all a very productive day but am I suffering today for it. When we built the fence a good few years ago the posts were put in with a machine so no stab mell/post rammer to swing and how quickly we forget how hard these jobs are. Hats off to our father/grandfathers who did it all by hand and then continued on the next day with another job that was just as physical. May be that's why the nations waist lines are expanding as yesterday was a much harder work out than any gym session would be as well as having the pleasure of being outside in the country on a lovely sunny day. Big consolation is that the wife is away for the weekend so I have the house to myself to laze about in watching old classic movies such as Star Wars with a glass of cider watching the wind and rain outside so not all bad.

I to sent several letters to the local MSPs regarding this and got the same letter that you did. It is quite clearly a pro forma response letter as I have two exactly the same from MacAskill from different MSPs with the only difference being the MSPs name which is hand written no doubt by a researcher or some other gopher in the office. I fail to see the point of the consultation as no matter what was said it was going to happen and happen as they see it. I know it won't affect me as I own enough ground to use an air rifle (as I do just now for the rabbits) and have just had my interview for my FAC with no issues being allowed a FAC air for the same ground so a sub 12ft/lb will not be an issue. But that's not the point they are just making something that isn't a problem a problem to look good. Another interesting paragraph in the letter was this However, while good progress has been made, there is no reason to be complacent. The actual number of offences may be higher - airgun crime is frequently under reported with many incidents of vandalism, antisocial behaviour or wildlife crime not reflected in the official police statistics. Licensing airguns will allow police to take these potentially lethal weapons out of the hands of those who misuse them. Anyone with a genuine reason to shoot, and who is able to do so without risk to the public, should be able to obtain a licence from the police with minimal disruption. Several points raised in this paragraph alone. 1. Most crime is under reported either by the public or the police/government massaging the figures. 2. If you are a halfwit who misuses airguns the laws are already there to take the guns from them. 3. Should be able to obtain a licence - wonder what that means? Just have to wait and see what the damage is when the actual bill is published but it will no doubt be ill thought out, unworkable (as everyone is telling them) and overly expensive like most other government plans.

Well the vet came out and had a look and thinks she has done something to her fetlock and she's went down on it somehow. I checked the field for rabbit holes etc. and nothing there so bit of a mystery as to how as the field is flat. He has given her a big dose of painkillers so now just have to wait till Monday and see how she is and if nothing gets better they will x-ray her to make sure nothings broken or chipped (but he doesn't think there is)and take it from there. But the vet agrees that due to her age, arthritis etc. much more treatment other than painkillers and box rest would probably be pretty pointless or really expensive. Wife knows that she will have to make that decision sooner rather than later but as she says if you don't want to make that decision no matter how hard it is don't keep animals. She used to work for the vet and saw hundreds of owners keeping pets going spending a fortune on a lost cause and prolonging the animals suffering. So not as bad as it could have been but still not a nice wait an neither my wife or I like to see animals in pain like that.

Went out to put the horse and chickens in last night and the wife's horse was hopping lame. Now the horse is 20 years old, retired and a bit arthritic but gets a 1/4 to 1/8th dose of pain killer every night and toddles around the field quite happy. But she could hardly walk last night or put weight on one of her legs when we brought her in. Gave her a full dose of the painkiller but this morning she appears to be even worse. I am not a great horse lover but even I think she is one of the sweetest nicest horses around (everyone who meets her says that) and it would be incredibly sad to see her go but it's looking like the wife is going to have to make that decision when the vet comes out this morning. At least we both think the same. We are all for giving an animal a chance (unless the vets says it's hopeless or its pretty obvious its hopeless) but we won't let them suffer if they are in a lot of pain. We have friends who have doped their horses up on medication for months when it was pretty obvious it needed put down which I think is wrong. Vet coming out in an hour or so when we will get a verdict and see what happens.

Parents have one. We use it when there not.

Went to the garden centre for a few plants today and as we walked in the front door we were confronted with a large display of Christmas decorations. I know the shops have to get the stuff out so you can buy it in time but August come on.

Got a visit from my FEO during the week in relation to my FAC application. No problems with the application or the land that I put down to shoot on. He just has to make a few calls to my referees and to make sure I am a member of the gun club but as he saw no probs it hopefully will arrive soon. Time to start looking for something to fill those slots up with now. Now where has that wallet gone.

Have a friend in Argyll that does clay pigeon shooting and I was down at the weekend as the wife was visiting them for a few days. Whilst there we got the trap and guns out and shot a few clays in some glorious weather. And with a view like this as we were shooting it doesn't get much better.

Dont undersrand this Hosepipe ban stuff. Up here in Scotland rain is something we generally have to much of. However it is showing here as the burn through the field has stopped running and is turning into green stagnent water along with the increase in midges.

Wifes mum has a house out in Spain and I have seen a marked decline over the last 5 years. When I first went the village was full of people and getting a parking space was nearly impossible. Now it's virtually empty with the entire young adult/middle age group appearing to be missing and there are only around half the cars if your lucky there used to be as people have had to move away to try and earn money, also on the way up there are thousands of empty flats at the side of the motorway. I read over there that a lot of the flats were built on ground they should never have been built on but were allowed due to numerous brown envelopes stuffed with cash going over desks in some of the town halls. We think its bad here but when you have a country with unemployment running at 27% and youth unemployment at around 57% it's very bad.

The holdings were built between the wars for returning servicemen to have a job and everyone mucked in together then and a lot of the people in the holdings that are farmed are relatives/decendents of the original occupants. They have been sold off piecemeal over the years and most don't have the ground they started with (usually 7-8 acres) or they have bought the surrounding land to be small 50- 75 acre farms. The few that are still around the same size and farmed as ours and the neighbours is are farmed by people who have full time jobs (both dad and the neighbour worked shifts till they retired a few years ago) so it was a mad dash to get things done such as cutting oats/barley etc. I can remember when we moved in over 30+ years ago as a young kid that everyone helped everyone else out especially at harvest time as no round balers then just small square ones and every bale had to be lifted out the field by hand (a horrible mucky job in the heat of summer) so everyone helped everyone else to get it done and it's still the same although the equipment is a lot newer and more capable. Couple of years ago we were pulling the neighbours telehandler out the two foot deep snow it was stuck in with the tractor as he was trying to feed his sheep.

My dad and I both have small holdings (10 acres in total) and its that time of year again when the Hay gets cut. The recent great weather has produced some great hay as everyone went mad making it round here. However nothing goes smoothly when haymaking (usually a baler taking a hissy fit as next door had) and half way trough the haymaking the clutch in the tractor decided it was going to go so now we can only do 1mph without it slipping. As there are several smallholdings round us it was neighbours to the rescue who came over with the tractor to finish the baling and cut, turn and bale my small field while our tractor has its clutch replaced this week. Thank god for great neighbours who all pull together.

I carry my cert with me when I'm out just to stop any problems (or a copy). I know we can radio back and check but all that will tell me is that Joe Blogs is a cert holder with X guns. But speaking as an officer how do I know that the person in front of me is the person they say they are. It may come as a shock to some but not everyone the police speak to tell the truth or their right name especially if they have something to hide. At least the cert has the holders photo on it so I can be sure that the person I am speaking to is the person who the cert was issued to. I sometimes feel there is to much put on the fact it is on PNC it still won't tell me if the person in front of me is the right person and it does sometimes crash as all computer systems do a bit of paper doesn't.

Believe it is an old style slate hammer. Point for putting hole in the slate, hammer for putting the nail in and claws for taking them out. Could be wrong but that was what i was told by an old builder as we had one in the shed.

This wasn't meant to be about the rights or wrongs of motabilty but the general service from the garages as they were treating all the customers the same. As said above most disabled people such as my wife would gladly give their 'FREE' car back for what some people would call a normal life. My wife would get rid of her car in a heart beat is she could go back 20 years, not have her accident, 5 years of operations and physio to be able to walk again or the severe daily pain she has. Cars are hardly free when some of the heavily adapted wheelchair vehicles have advanced payments of over thirty grand. The so called free car is also costing us £500.

My Wife is disabled and has a motability car that is due to be changed so spent the weekend looking around the various garages to find one that she can get in, be comfortable when it's adapted (she drives with her left foot so the pedal position is very important for when it is adapted) and likes the look of. But how bad was the service we got from the staff. In most of the garages we were ignored and when we did ask for something like could we see the car that was outside they unlocked it from inside the showroom and told us it was open before going back to there chat together. Not having the car that we were going to look at i.e a Ford garage without a Focus and Kia garage without a C'eed, the cars you would think would be there. Being shown a new car that was dirty and smelt of cigarette smoke and a garage manager who sarcastically (think it was an attempt at humour) asked how many cars we were buying that day even if he offered it to me for a pound (answer - none from you now). How do the garages think they would sell a car if they act like that you have got to wonder how much of the dip in car sales is due to the recession and how much is to do with the awful service and attitude of the sales staff. I am not looking for the pushy car salesman who is all over you trying to sell a car that is just as bad but a bit of interaction rather than ignoring you would be nice. But credit where credit is due some of the garages were brilliant being very helpful and answering any questions we had, offering alternatives to try if there was a problem and generally understanding the problems that a disabled person with reduced mobility can have trying to get in and out of a car and not treating you like a leper. Needless to say we ended up getting a car from one of them.

Somehow my computer has picked up the Inksdata malware and try as I might using my antivirus and malware programs I cannot seem to get rid of it and it keeps coming up. Any of the computer buffs out there know how to get rid of it completely or have any Trusted removal tools to do it. I can find plenty tools on the internet to download but am suspicious that they contain more viruses and malware.

Finally got my finger out and sent off my coterminous Firearms application for a .22 target rifle and FAC air rifle to go with my shotgun cert. Lets see how quick the new Police Scotland really is in turning it around.

Just exploring all the options at present. I will probably keep the oil but there is the problem starting around here of oil/diesel going missing from the tanks more and more and that is much more difficult with LPG so its a thought. As for the hot water tank in the last 15 or so years the boiler has broken down twice and since there is a heating engineer less that 1/2 mile up the road who I know it has never been broken for more than a day if we can't sort it ourselves i.e by changing the faulty pump/valve etc. Most of the time the heating was off was because we had a power cut so the heater in the tank was off as well. We have a woodburner in the L/room so heat is not a problem and we can get hot water for a few days by using the caravan, which has a shower in it as well and it can be connected to the mains so no probs there. There is a bigger problem now running out of water as my wife and son both like having baths. So the Combi seems the better option.

The central heating boiler is coming up for 20 odd years old in the next couple of years and although at the moment still efficient and working it's time to think about a replacement when I want and can afford to do it rather than when it suddenly goes. I am currently looking at the following options. 1. Get another oil fired boiler the same as the one I have just now. 2. Get an oil fired combi boiler (if you can get one) so I can get rid of the hot water tank and free up some space. 3. Get rid of the oil and get a gas combi boiler and tank. Has anyone out there any idea if you can get an oil fired combi boiler (preferably wall mounted internal or external) at all. Also how much is it to buy a gas tank and run it for a year.

Yes we have a jack russel that normally goes mental when people are outside and a lot of the time is how we know someone is there. But not a peep out of her unfortunatly.