NickS

I was on a ship when a couple of deck cadets were given the job of repainting the white paint around the bridge. Two days later the mate came down and asked "Peter, how much activator did you put in that paint, only it is still sticky?" "Activator?" he replied. He thought the small tin taped to the large one was "touch up paint". It wasn't even that he hadn't painted anything before as it was his fourth or fifth trip as cadet and deckies spent a lot of time chipping and painting. They spent the next couple of days cleaning off the paint that was never going to dry....

When we were buying our house, the agent was so condescending towards my wife that we told the people selling that we wanted to buy the house but wouldn't deal with their agent. He was the archetypal public school twit who had clearly found a firm that valued "connections" more than intelligence or ability. The agent was apparently a friend of th guy selling but his wife couldn't stand him either so we ended up calling them directly to let them know what was happening. In the end, the agent did very little for his £14k fee the sellers paid him as we were cash buyers and they were moving to a place they already owned. For that, they also had to pay extra for a very nice glossy brochure that contained typos and formatting errors that meant that the captions didn't match the photos and blocks of text were split.

Some posts need a Like button. Very happy to hear that there is some light in your life.

it is also set to change the nature of the 15s game. New sponsorship arrangement mean that their best up and coming players can afford to stay in Fiji, rather than move countries and qualifying through residency to represent their new country at international level.

We use Stronghold on our cats which seems pretty effective.

Do you mean the socket or the plug? Either can be replaced if you can handle a soldering iron. Feel free to send me some pics if you want me to suggest a fix - I may even have something I can send you. Alternatively, send me the cable and I can do it for you.

Given how much EU cash has gone to Ireland, it would be pretty daft for them to vote to leave - but then Wales and Cornwall also voted to leave so I guess it isn't all about money. The RoI net nearly €1bn a year so it isn't small change.

There is an interesting point in the Times today. Whilst the UK and RoI governments may wish to keep the border open, the EU will view it as their external border and not allow this. What effects could this have on life in both communities and possibly on the peace process?

Thanks for the clarification. I don't think anyone wants to see anything that destabilises the situation. RoI citizens are treated pretty much as UK subjects when it comes to voting and, as you say, the current arrangements predate the EU. The only difference that I can see is that non-RoI people will have an easier entry to the UK than they would by arriving at Dover but that then assumes that NI is their destination if there are to be checks on travel between NI and mainland UK.

Re May's announcement today: How does this fit with "controlling our own borders" after we leave the EU? Anyone from another EU country can travel quite legally to the Republic and then cross into NI. I realise why it was done but how do people view it?

It is nothing new. Thirty years ago I was working as a technical sales for an engineering company and received a call from a guy from MOD procurement wanting some rubber O rings. The cost was about £10 but we had a minimum order charge of £35. That wasn't a problem as it was urgent. I suggested I increase the quantity as it wouldn't cost any more but no, that couldn't be done as he was only authorised to order the number requested... Less than an hour went by when I got another call from a different person with another small but urgent order. I suggested that I could tack it onto the original one as, together, they were still below the £35. "Can't do that - different departments" said the guy from the MOD. I asked him if he knew the first one to call. "Yes, we share an office". I ended up charging one and sticking the others in an envelope with a compliments slip....

They can because FIFA is every bit as corrupt.

Well, it won't have done much work Thanks for the ideas. I was thinking of hiring one and, whilst it will no doubt be industrial quality, at £40 a day plus consumables I may as well buy one.

Anyone got any suggestions/recommendations/ones to avoid? It is only for domestic use but it will need to take a brush cutter blade as well as a line. I would like to keep within a budget of £200. Thanks!

I can see the point that some de-activated fully automatic weapons are too easy to re-activate but could that be addressed by ensuring that de-activation methods are improved? I don't know the answer to reducing the circulation of illegally held weapons except that it is incumbent upon us to ensure the security of those we hold legally and not leave them unattended, as happened recently. Everyone I know is very aware of their responsibilities in this respect. Good police intelligence is about the only way of removing illegal guns from circulation, without virtually dismantling vehicles as they cross borders. An indication of how ineffective controls on legally held guns is, look at how many shootings involve types that have been banned entirely for years. The paragraph about domestic shootings is a real red herring. Sadly, most appear to committed by people using legally held firearms in a regime where we already have five year renewals. In most of the cases I can recall, a shotgun has been used, not a re-activated firearm. I fail to see how anything proposed or supported is going to address this. To put the problem into perspective, whilst every incident is a tragedy, look at the comparable figures for knife crime and the daily reports of murder and serious injury.

True, but I was answering a particular hypothetical point about the maths of a swing. The truth is that IF (and before I get jumped all over, I am not advocating it!) there was another referendum, the outcome is unlikely to be the same as people now have a better idea of what they are voting for. Whether it would be just a change in majority (bigger or smaller) or a change in the result is pure speculation based on wishful thinking in most cases - and that applies however you voted.

Spot on! We need the team to do the very best they can and they need our support. The one thing I hope governments take from this, and we have seen it with the Scottish independence vote, is that a referendum does not "settle" anything but causes bitterness and division. In future, a party should stand on a particular ticket and have the cojones to follow it through, based on their election mandate.

Not as I understand it. A 3% swing would reduce one side by 3% and increase the other by 3%. Unless of course it means that 3% of those who voted for a particular outcome changed, in which case you are right. Either way it is hypothetical as it ain't going to happen!

This needs a like.

You make some good points. If there was a 2-3% swing as you say, that would possibly reverse the result. Had it gone the other way, Would those who have campaigned for so long just roll over and accept it? Would the majority of those on here who voice a strong opinion that all discussion should follow their own advice? I doubt it, even if they were in the minority because that is how real democracy works. It isn't just about slightly more than half of those who voted putting one over on slightly less than half of those who voted or you end up with a bitterly divided country. I also agree that it would be impossible to lead people to believe that there could be another referendum - not because it is only democratic if the result goes your way but because if we were promised a say as to whether to stay or accept the negotiated settlement to leave, it would be in the best interests of anyone wanting to stay for those terms to be as p*** poor as possible. That is absolutely not in our country's interest. I do think that we have taken an irrevocable step to leave and it is in everyone's interests to ensure that those responsible for the negotiations do the best they can.

You have to admit that it is also much more fun

Remember that an MP is answerable to his or her constituents at the next election, not to the country as a whole. How much pressure will be on those from areas where the vote was to remain? Then you have the House of Lords who can be unpredictable and obstructive. Certainly there are ways to impose the will of the Commons but that takes time.

If there is a second referendum based, not on what may or may not be on offer, but what is actually on the table, surely that is more democratic, not less, regardless of the outcome? The truth is that a swing of 600 000 people is not a lot and is that what really worries those who voted to leave? It isn't undemocratic to change your mind either way if given new, more accurate information than was presented originally. It may be that following negotiations, the case for leaving is even clearer.

If they are successful, there is a right to appeal or are you saying that courts and judges should be bullied into delivering the verdict that government wants? Constitutional law is very important, as is our whole legal system which has evolved over many centuries. To subvert it now is both hypocritical and dangerous as this is often the beginning of any totalitarian regime creeping into power. Now, I am not saying that this is a direction in which we are moving as the government has shown its willingness to oblige the courts. What is in question is whether the government can take a step without parliament's approval, not whether Article 50 can be invoked. Given that one argument used extensively by the Leave campaign was that our own parliament was being a denied a say in what laws Apply in the UK it is an absolute disgrace that the law firms involved have been receiving threats and abuse.

That seems a lot for a single entry. Join English Heritage for £52 a year and visit some of the other places they look after.