Sue

kristen Wrote: When I did this I wanted him to know he was being watch & > that someone would come along (so I said the > police had been called) - this was partly because > I was on my own & was worried about the > possibility of being attacked. xxxxxxx Fair enough.

I'm quite bemused by the sudden interest in the way I write my posts, but hey ho. Thanks for all the suggestions, but I'm not about to change! Most people appear not be confused, as this is the first time it has ever been mentioned, on this or other forums :) I'm even more bemused that some people appear to think a row of xs to show where my own post starts should demonstrate affection! Anyway, back to the rats. I agree there should be more education re feeding bread to ducks, but what you can do? There are already notices up. Maybe the cafe could sell more suitable food for ducks? Personally I'm more concerned for the health of the ducks than the fact that rats are attracted. But then I like rats :)

LuLu Too Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have no truck with this seemingly fashionable > gluten free "bandwagon". > For those of us with Coeliac Disease it is a > tedious condition. xxxxxxxx I have every sympathy with people with Coeliac Disease, of course. However I think it is a bit unfair to talk about "fashionable" and "bandwagons". Many people find they have symptoms which are relieved by omitting certain foods from their diet, which may include gluten-containing foods. Those symptoms may not be as severe or potentially serious as those experienced by people with Coeliac Disease, but surely it is not unreasonable that some people would prefer to eat a limited diet rather than put up with the symptoms? My six year old granddaughter is presently on a hospital prescribed dairy-free diet for six weeks to see if this improves chronic stomach pain and eczema. Had that been a gluten-free diet, surely you would not describe her as jumping on some fashionable bandwagon? She has been tested for many things, and Coeliac Disease was one of them, but the doctors still do not know what is the root cause of the symptoms (but they suspect they are related). Surely if somebody finds that diet can improve their symptoms - or even that following a particular diet just makes them feel better - then that is a positive thing?

Passing a Money Shop in Forest Hill on the bus, I was astounded to see a large sign in the window offering short-term loans at 2961% APR. I thought I must have misread it, but I've just looked up their website, which says: Representative example: ?200 Loan. Total amount repayable in a single payment of ?259.98 in 28 days. Annual interest rate 390.94% (variable). 2961.4% APR representative. And underneath that, it says "Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems." They're not f-ing joking, are they? No wonder people who are already poor enough to need this kind of "service" spiral further and further into debt :( :( :( Bastards. Sorry, this probably isn't a tiny little thing, but it has certainly caused me enormous rage, irrational or not I have no idea.

kristen Wrote: > I yelled at him as loudly as I could to pack it in > & that I'd called the police. > He didn't turn round but stopped & walked off down > Playfield Crescent. > xxxxxx Great that you reported it to the police, but once you'd warned him that you had, unfortunately he wasn't going to hang around till they turned up, was he :(

LadyDeliah Wrote: > > I think I'll try weaning myself off and just keep > the gluten free bread in the freezer in case of > emergency :-) xxxxxxx I do that, it's much easier and means you don't waste any and never run out (probably). If it's unsliced, I slice it and put those dividing things between the slices. If it's already sliced, I just leave it as it is and prise the slices apart as I use them ....

LadyDeliah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I like the Genius grainy gluten free bread, but > it's expensive. > xxxxxx I have just discovered that Tesco sell an own-brand seeded gluten-free bread which is actually really nice compared to many of the others. The only other one I found that I liked was one of the Warburton gluten-free ones, but Sainsbury's stopped selling it for some reason.

Gill in Bath Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Mr Ben, this is a long shot but did you ever > get to the bottom of the hens egg in plant pot > mystery? > I realise it was ages ago but I found an egg > buried in a pot of compost today. Rather > un-nerving and weird. > Yours was the only related item that google found. > and even more strangely I used to live in Dulwich > a long time ago. > I hope it wasn't something witchy. Gill xxxxxxx Foxes bury raw eggs. I found one a year or so back buried in a pot in my front garden. What I couldn't understand, though, was where the fox had got the egg from in the first place, as it was stamped :) If you google "foxes bury eggs" a whole load of stuff comes up :)

Mustard Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Surely a line is better than xxxxx, as those > indicate crossing out. xxxxxxx But you wouldn't delete something online with crosses, unless you somehow put the crosses over the top of what you'd deleted because you wanted it still to be seen? You'd delete with the delete key leaving no trace, surely? Anyway, I've no idea how to insert a line into a post! Perhaps I will try using different symbols - probably not though :) EPB, :)) :)) :))

Thanks kiera :)

pinecone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sue, why do all your posts begin with a row of > x's? xxxxxxxx It's to help distinguish what I've written from the post I'm quoting. I only do it if I'm quoting someone else. I sometimes find it hard to disentangle posts and work out who was/is saying what, so I think maybe other people might find it hard as well. I'm probably completely wrong :)

snooks Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hello I very rarely complain but this centre is > terrible, unprofessional and no idea how to treat > OAPs. Ive been poorly with very swollen glands, > intense headaches, perspiration and loss of voice. > It was a reall effort to get there but I had an > obliging and thoughtful cab driver who tokk me, > waited and brought me home. All this only to be > told it would take 2-3 weeks to clear and to take > ibuprofen (not even a prescription for that) very > very shabby treatment xxxxx Sorry to hear you are feeling so ill, it sounds horrible, but did the GP not tell you what you have? Because unfortunately, there are indeed some things for which the only cure is time - sometimes longer that 2-3 weeks. I've had them! They are a pain! (no pun intended). If you think you have something more serious, then perhaps ask to see another GP? Otherwise, I'm not quite sure what else the GP could do if her diagnosis was correct and there was no other appropriate treatment? What could she have done which would have been "more professional"? I'm sure she would have given you a prescription if you'd asked - possibly she forgot that you would get the ibuprofen free on prescription, because for most people, these days it would be cheaper to buy it over the counter than to pay for it on prescription? Also perhaps she thought you would already have it at home? Also, I don't mean to belittle what you saw as a poor experience, but I'm also an OAP and I don't expect to be treated differently by a GP just because of my age? Surely poor treatment is poor treatment (if it is) however old or young you are? If you are feeling very ill, it's hard to get to the surgery whatever your age, unfortunately :( I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks kiera, in fact I've just investigated further in my existing tub and there are some small creatures alive in it, so what I think I will do is temporarily put the new tadpoles in there until the water in the new-to-me Belfast sink has had time to settle. I can't remember what I put at the bottom of my tub, I think it was just gravel. Should I be using clean sand, or garden soil in the sink? Instead of or as well as? I've googled but that has just confused me further :)

louisemurray Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sue, Keira is quite right. > If you fill whatever you are going to use today > and let it settle/evaporate. By Tues/Weds when > you get some toadpoles and plants they will be > just fine. > Louise xxxxxx Oh dear, I was away and only just seen this :( Only just going to move the sink into position and fill it :( I do have some stuff somewhere which is supposed to sort the chlorine though, will try to find it.

Deleted because I'm beginning to doubt my own memories :))

Loving all the suggestions :) For purely selfish reasons I'd like a pound shop or a Lidl :)) but sadly it's far too small for either. So I'll settle for a reincarnation of the Dream Machine .....

jimmah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My pond is full of small bugs, shrimplike things xxxxxx Yes, my tub has been in previous years, that's why I'm a bit concerned. I've just acquired an old butler sink, maybe I will use that as my pond instead and put fresh water in it :( But then water from the tap isn't good either because of the chlorine, oh dear :(

DaveR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- Because there are > so many houses that have suffered subsidence in > the past there are plenty of insurers who will > take on the business, but you are unlikely to be > able to find them from comparison sites, so you > need to do old fashioned ringing around. xxxxxx Yeh that's what I had been doing. Anyway, I'm quite happy having almost halved what I was paying, without having had to pay for an up-to-date survey. A sign-off from 2001 would not cut any ice with any underwriter, I suspect. It certainly didn't impress any of the people I talked to earlier in the week. I've kept full records of all the technical reports etc - but it was thirteen years ago :)

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We had a subs claim just a few years back with the > same insurer.. Xxxxxxxxx So how come you are able to get quotes from other insurers to be able to say you are leaving? Most places won't touch anywhere with past subsidence claim with a bargepole so far as I can see :( Sorry for odd formatting am on phone!

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > These places are just like everywhere else. If you > don't ask, you don't get. xxxxxx My case was somewhat different. They knew I couldn't get insurance elsewhere because of the history of "subsidence", albeit from 13 years ago. So they had me over a barrel and didn't in the least have to reduce my premium. In fact I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been increased, and I would have had no option but to pay it ....... Or else be uninsured, which frankly would not be a great plan :)

Amazing good news! I realise I am the only one interested :)) but hey I have to share .... After several long conversations yesterday and today with my existing insurer (the person concerned was extremely helpful and went well beyond the call of duty), and apparently a referral to the Chief Executive, I have been issued with a new policy as "new business" with the present underwriter, with better cover, and for ?446 instead of ?732 :) Which normally I wouldn't have been eligible for because of what they are now saying was a "subsidence" claim in 2001. So polite persistence pays off, I guess. Having kept a note of the conversation I had with them last year, and the person's name, helped I think. So I have saved nearly ?300 a year. Hooray! Must resist the temptation to rush out and buy something :))

henryb Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I can take a while. You should have midge larva at > least. Does it have oxygenator plants in it? xxxxxx Yes, I get them from The Goldfish Bowl in Oxford when I'm in Oxford. Can't remember what kind they were, but they were OK for outdoor ponds. But I did also have a solar-powered fountain to help with oxygenation. Sadly late last Summer something (I presume a fox) dragged the floating bit out of the tub, together with the pump, if memory serves, and ate a huge chunk of the floating foam pad! So I think it's probably (bad word meaning ruined). I may be able to get a replacement pad, but I think the pump gets wrecked if it's out of water :( ETA: It's the second one I've had, so I'm not too keen to spend money on another one. The first one, something also removed the pump during the Winter, and unfortunately I didn't notice until Spring.

louisemurray you're a star. I will PM you! I'm slightly worried there might be something wrong with the water in my tub, as although it's not stagnant there doesn't seem to be anything at all living in it at the moment, ie no little pond creatures that I can see. Is that normal for this time of year? I wouldn't have thought so. I have had builders next door who have showered sawdust all over the garden, and I wonder if anything could have got into my tub? The mirror thread person has PMed me to tell me that I am a busybody with too much time on my hands. This for politely suggesting that the purchaser of a garden mirror should site it carefully to avoid stunning or killing birds. Charming. ETA: Oh, I see she's called me a "stalker" (???) and a busybody on her thread, as well.

oops posted in error sorry

Laddy Muck Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You are right re. mirrors, Sue...sadly the little > birdies tend to fly into glass too - so I try not > to clean my windows during the breeding season. > > Anyway, "my" newts are bonking like mad > again...rabbits appear celibate by comparison! :)) xxxxxxx I've heard if you put stickers on glass windows it deters the birds. Especially if they're in the shape of a bird of prey silhouette! Good news about "your" newts. My tub has had no frog visits this Spring :( So no spawn, and no tadpoles :(