McSpredder

Maybe best wait until he gets to college, and then take advice from the teaching staff. They will probably have contacts among the manufacturers and/or suppliers, who might offer special deals for students.

Remember that film "Girl on a motorcycle"?

How long would it take to convert a round-ended kitchen knife into a pointed one? Maybe 15 minutes rubbing on a doorstep? Perhaps it is time to ban doorsteps.

TV news shows old buildings that have lost a few tiles or slates, whereas complete roofs have been blown from more modern structures. Are wind speeds much higher than anticipated by authors of Building Regulations? Are construction companies failing to tie the roof structure to walls and frames? Are Building Control inspectors failing to check that tie-downs have been installed?

Flooding often seems to affect places with names such as Willow Holme (Carlisle) or Fishlake (Doncaster). Why would that be, I wonder?

Could somebody please quote the exact wording of the Home Office official guidance? Nobody over the age of 77 has a full NHS record, because that organisation was not established until 5 July 1948. There might not be very many folk applying for their first SGC/FAC aged over 77, but there will certainly be lots of us seeking renewals. There was a minor hiccup during my last SGC renewal because MedCert correctly ticked the box saying that they did not have my full records (from birth). The police initially queried this, but were reassured when MedCert confirmed that the assessment was based on complete records from 1975 onwards. Apparently the same situation had arisen several other applicants. I wonder what will happen next time round.

Have the Proof Houses ever commented on what depth of scoring would render a barrel out of proof?

I don't have any ten bob notes, but after working for a couple of weeks in Russia (early 1990s) I brought home a three rouble note, because it made me think of the USA expression "phony as a three-dollar bill".

Judging from some of the opinions expressed in this PW thread, there must be a place where no marksman ever misjudges the range, rifle sights are never accidentally knocked, no insect ever lands on a shooter’s nose just as the shot is being taken, no animal ever decides to move at the very moment the trigger is being pulled, and each fox is killed instantly by a perfectly-placed bullet. It is a region where no animal ever escapes to die a lingering death from a festering bullet wound. No fox ever starves, incapable of catching prey after being shot in the leg, or unable to eat because of a wounded jaw. I think the name of that place might be Cloud Cuckoo Land.

‘Today’s 2021 Census data shows 1,040,000 adults in England and Wales say they can’t speak English well or at all.’ https://learningandwork.org.uk/news-and-policy/response-to-census-2021-data-on-english-language-proficiency There are also residents and visitors who can speak fairly good English, but might have difficultly understanding certain UK dialects. ‘An estimated 1.2 million adults in the UK have hearing loss severe enough that they would not be able to hear most conversational speech.’ https://rnid.org.uk/get-involved/research-and-policy/facts-and-figures/prevalence-of-deafness-and-hearing-loss/ Many people can understand normal conversation, but find it hard to distinguish consonants when instructions are shouted. A shout of “Armed police”, can sound like a meaningless “aaaah eeece” to any middle-aged or older person, or to one who has been exposed to industrial noise. ‘The hallmark of presbycusis [age related hearing loss] is the impaired ability to understand high-frequency components of speech (voiceless consonants, such as p, k, f, s, and ch)’ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559220/ Would standard training for police officers include all this sort of information?

Did the insurance company state this condition in any document issued to you in previous years? If not, it sounds as though you been paying for cover that the insurer never intended to provide.

What is going on here? Has the law changed recently? My SGC (valid 2022-2027) includes provision for lending: Table 2 Shotguns transferred - State whether sold, let on hire, given or lent Notes B ….. lending it for more than 72 hours ….. C Under section 32 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 ….. sells, lets on hire, lends for more than 72 hours ….. D Under section 33 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 ….. lending it for more than 72 hours …..

"It is one of the happiest characteristics of this glorious country that official utterances are invariably regarded as unanswerable" (HMS Pinafore)

Tidal energy supply could be predicted quite accurately (Canute said something along those lines 1000 years ago), and it is certainly much more predictable than wind, solar, wave, etc. There is a great deal of energy in the Pentland Firth, and the Severn Estuary has a very large tidal range (rise and fall). The Rance scheme is Brittany has been generating electricity for nearly 60 years. Is there any ongoing tidal energy development in UK? There are certainly some drawbacks (eg siltation associated with tidal barrages), but are they insurmountable?

Anglian Water website has a calculator. https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/help-and-advice/save-water/water-usage-calculator/ When you enter MM’s information (One resident, 2 baths/week, washing machine used once/week, no dishwasher, no garden hose) the result is an estimated use of 38 cubic metres/year. Estimated annual bill Water £117 + Sewerage £176 = TOTAL £293 In other words, not very different from other PW members are charged in similar circumstances, and only a fraction of what MM is now being asked to pay.