Sue

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 :(

Somebody is selling a garden mirror on here. I posted (politely) advice from the RSPB about the dangers of garden mirrors to birds - who obviously don't realise they are mirrors and fly into them - and my post has been removed. Great. ETA: Just noticed that in fact the original thread with my posts on is still there, but the seller has started a new one. So apologies to admin for my thinking that it was admin who didn't care about birds, and bad thoughts about the mirror seller :(

http://www.ifood.tv/network/fox_meat

uncleglen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yes- it is not good when they send their kids to > your school for a couple of weeks and then clear > off. The ones I have experienced are put in > classes according to their age and are below the > reading age and deficient in Maths and become > disruptive since they/their parents do not care > about their education- and they have a detrimental > effect on the other students- but equal opps and > all that bleeding heart liberal bs.... xxxxxx Oh, how very charming. I'd rather be a "bleeding heart liberal", as you put it, than be like you :(

Underhill Road or East Dulwich Road???

Oh well, it seems like I am stuck with my present insurer - unless I want to pay for an up-to-date structural engineer's report to say there is no further ongoing movement. But on the bright side it seems that my present premium is reasonable, so not worth the hassle or expense of getting a report, I think. Thanks to everybody who offered advice!

Thanks so much for this, I had no idea you could have acoustic glazing put in old sash windows, I shall contact them immediately!!

ljohnson Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hi,I saw them too, absolutely disgusting xxxxx Why do you find them disgusting? Rats are very intelligent animals and it's not like these ones are living in your home!

I tried to attract goldfinches with nigella (niger) seed for ages, and in the end gave up. Maybe I'll try again! Not going to encourage dandelions and thistles in my tiny garden, I'm afraid, though may plant some nigella flowers :)

Oddono's - We recently had ice creams at Marine Ices at Chalk Farm, and it made me realise how lucky we are to have Oddono's in ED - much much nicer ice cream, quite a bit cheaper if memory serves, and much better service :) And totally agree with Treeview re ToastEd's salted chocolate tart, if that was the one with the raspberries too - probably the most yummy thing I've eaten this year so far :) Oh, and let's not forget to say Positive and Nice things about Foxy for starting this thread :))

JDR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- they have a new > system where you sit and wait. xxxxxxx When I was younger, that was the "old" system, and having an appointments system was supposed to mean less of a wait ...... With this "new" system, what are they going to do if they get so many people turning up at the same time that the wait could turn into hours? And will there be some sort of cut-off time, otherwise the doctors could be working 24/7?! I can see there are pros and cons of both systems - for example there will no longer be "missed appointments" with all the waste of time that entails - but oh dear, there seems to be no ideal solution, does there?

I thought they were sixties/seventies trousers, somewhat akin to loon pants :))

titch juicy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > being anti-fashion is so fashionable xxxxx I love fashion as an art form, but not blindly following it :)

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I've never followed a fashion trend, I'll be cool > when regular boot cut jeans and t-shirts are the > in thing. That's basically all I wear. If I'm > "dressing up" it'll be the same jeans with one of > my 2 short sleeved shirts. xxxxxx My clothes are on-trend about once every fifteen years :))

You can save photos on Snapfish, too. I don't think you actually have to buy anything from them. Not sure how the amount of free storage compares to Flickr, though. Or you could store them all on one or more external hard drives or memory sticks? Depends whether you trust they will be safe online in the future, I suppose.

Sue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Where do flat caps come into this? > > Or don't they? > > We started giving pubs a flat cap rating, but have > noticed fewer around lately (caps not pubs :) ) xxxxxxx So - are the flat cap wearers a separate species? Or are the caps the hipsters' Winter plumage, now moulted for the Summer? Or are flat caps too now irretrievably uncool and all gone to charity shops?

If you google London stock bricks you will find loads of suppliers of reclaimed bricks :) I just did because I thought London stock bricks also came in red, but seems I was wrong and that only the yellow ones are known as London stock bricks.

tomdhu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There seems to be a whole lot more chaffinches > around this year, or is it just me? Having not > seen one in our garden in almost 20 years, we see > 2 in one day! > Tom xxxxx Haven't seen any, lucky you!

Seeing all the flowers in bloom in people's front gardens whilst out and about :) Blissfully quiet lunchtime on Friday (I think it was) with no planes, builders, alarms, sirens or shrieking, just birdsong :)

Where do flat caps come into this? Or don't they? We started giving pubs a flat cap rating, but have noticed fewer around lately (caps not pubs :) ).

Thanks for that, inTexas, but the issue is that my present insurance company told me that because "subsidence" was different to "ground movement" because they were specified separately, and that my claims were apparently noted down in their records as "ground movement", that I could truthfully say that I had never had "subsidence". I'm not convinced that this is the case, and I don't want to end up in a situation where I have a claim refused because of non-disclosure. I should have got something in writing from them, and stupidly I didn't. I just have the notes from my phone conversation with them. I guess I can in time for next year though .....

Thanks MyNameHere, I already have the Which report, and there's a lot of info on the MoneySavingExpert website as well. It is the subsidence/ground movement distinction (or otherwise) which I was keen to get people's views (or more hopefully expertise) on. I think I probably have to phone a few brokers for advice rather than trying to get quotes online. it's just a hassle when these days you don't expect to have to do that!

I really really don't want to do a full reset. I think I will wait and see if I get any more weird problems, given that I'm only three months (I think) away from an upgrade. Thanks for your help everyone!