Sue

Dedicated to the One I Love - Mamas and Papas

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How cruel of you Sue. Replace it immediately with > half a dozen of ED's finest organic ones! > xxxxxxx If s/he continues to dig up my bulbs and disturb the rest of my carefully planted stuff, I shall not be replacing it with eggs, organic or not, I shall be replacing it with either very pointy things or peppercorms :))

Such a weird thing - what I now realise is a fox has been digging up a bed in a wall at the front of my house, which I gather is to get at daffodil bulbs. BUT the other night I came home and found a raw egg buried in the earth there - complete with little lion mark, so must have originally come from a shop, not a local henhouse. I've just googled it and found the following: "I've just researched this and it appears to be foxes that bury eggs of all kinds in gardens. They gently pick them up in their mouth and carry it to a safe place, dig a hole and come back later to eat it. My neighbour and I have been finding goose eggs in pots and borders!" Well this poor foxy won't find his or her egg, because I put it in my wheelie bin thinking it was someone taking the piss :))

This link leads to a lot of information about house prices, property trends etc: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/free-house-prices

Yes, a woman saying she was from MacMillan Cancer Support came to my door last night. She seemed genuine to me, however I object to the hard sell approach of charities either approaching me in the street or coming to my house. I prefer to decide in my own time who I give my money to. She said she wasn't asking for money, so I told her I wasn't filling in a direct debit form either, and she went away .....

silverfox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why doesn't the EDF make a charge for advertising > in the For sale and Wanted sections? surely the > days of providing this service gratis are over? > xxxxxx Probably because a lot of people would just turn to Gumtree, where the last time I advertised something it was free. Or Freecycle for things they were giving away. I prefer to use the forum because I see it as a local community thing, but if I had to pay to advertise something I was selling for a tenner, I wouldn't.

Huguenot II Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How about me - ?4,800.00 in February 1970. > I think I must be older than Sue though.!!! xxxxxxx I actually bought my first flat around 1970, but it was with my then husband, and in Dundee. I think it cost around ?1000 or something :)) Top floor of a tenement block. We then got a council grant to get a bathroom put in, and a new kitchen. Oh those were the days ...... When we split up he stayed there and I bought the ?650 flat mentioned above. Which was subsequently compulsorily purchased by the council and combined with the flat next door, however by that time I had moved back to London. How old are you then H II?

Yes that's the correct Kids Company. My partner is about to start doing some voluntary work with them.

bonniebird Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- every coat/bag I own has poo bags in > the pockets xxxxxx Too much information, bonniebird :))

:)-D

lindylou Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >Much of todays problems seem to come > from complete avarice. xxxxxx Lindylou I completely agree, and thanks for your posts.

Great idea skyblue, but sounds like it could be a logistical/administrative nightmare ......

I bought my house off North Cross Road for ?87,000 in 1991, eat your hearts out :)) Sorry couldn't resist it, but hey at least you're probably not as old as me! (Bought my first flat for ?650 (sic) in Dundee around 1976, with a bank loan. It had no bathroom and the bog was shared with the flat next door).

Thanks Lousmith, that's all very helpful. If it's as cold as this tomorrow though I'm not sure I fancy being outside digging a hole!!! How long do you think I have before the frogspawn hatches? (not sure if hatches is the right word, but you know what I mean!)

lousmith Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Sue > I would normally agree about transferring spawn, > though as you don't have an ecosystem established > to potentially upset I wouldn't worry. If the > spawn was impaired in any way it simply won't > develop. I have never witnessed any of the > dreadful viral infections that some colonies of > frogs are prone to in this area. I think > increasing the distribution of breeding > populations in cities is a good thing. I would say > leave 'wild' populations alone, though generations > of tadpole crazy youngsters did nothing to dent > numbers really. Nearly all ponds are in fact > man-made except in boggy, marshy places, so we > have a long history of helping frogs breed. > A pile of stones is a good way to go (or use > bricks or old broken concrete slabs for stability > under the surface and nice rocks above).You can > run across the edge of the tub with them onto the > land to landscape the edge. Frogs love to hide in > the damp crevices. I've got a few pieces of york > stone you could have which is ideal and get > colonised with moss and algae pretty quickly. Was > it you who had concerns about sun? Ideally a pond > should be in full sun at least for a good part of > the day, with aquatic plants providing the shade > essential to keep water temperature down during > summer, Oxygen levels go down when temp goes up, > but most pond plants don't thrive in shady > conditions. > Lou. xxxxxxxx That's all really useful, thanks so much. I'll get back to you once I've actually got the tub sunk in the garden - hopefully soon :) The other problem I have is that I don't have a rainwater butt (I know I know but no room) so I will have to use tap water, which is apparently another nono because of the chlorine?

lousmith Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Sue, got a surplus of frogspawn if you want to > start your frog nursery this year. I'm just on > Barry, near st Anthony's > As with any sort of tub pond it is important to > make some kind of easy egress point for froglets ( > or hapless small mammals } that need to get out to > prevent drowning as the sides are usually smooth > and slippery. xxxxxxx Hey, that's really kind. But I've heard you shouldn't transfer spawn, but just wait for your pond to be colonised? Will check it out again and get back to you - I'm planning on installing my mini-pond this weekend, weather permitting (and hangover permitting after my Goose gig tonight :)) ). Though hoping I can dig down two feet before hitting air raid shelter rubble!!! I'm not sure what to do about the exit point for mammals. Apparently there's no point putting a ladder going from the middle of the tub as mammals go round the edges only, looking for a way out. I have read that chicken wire around the edges will help them climb out, but I'm a bit worried they may get caught up in it. What have other people done? Would a pile of stones in one corner (as it were) of the tub work?

I get lots of sparrows in my garden (North Cross Road area). I'll happily swap them for your goldfinches :)

Not sure if this counts as nature, but some beautiful Camellias out at the moment and others about to burst. Lovely pale pink one at the ED end of Oglander Road.

Excellent! I just looked up the route, and now have a memory of having tried it once when I was working in a different part of Islington, and it was a nightmare because all the bus stops were moved because of road works or something, plus the walk home from the Rye seemed like hours, so I never tried it again!

So did you get the 63?!

Ann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Anyone out there who give recommendations on > saving valuable data? xxxxxxx So sorry to hear about the burglary, and hope you are not too traumatised. Check out Carbonite For less than a pound a week all your data, photos, music etc will be automatically backed up and you don't have to remember to transfer it to an external hard drive (or hope that the external hard drive will not die). I once somehow permanently deleted a load of stuff by mistake and was so glad I had it backed up. And of course if your laptop is stolen again (heaven forfend) or if you change your laptop, you will be able to get all your data back with no problem.

I would not personally buy chicken which was not free range. However I'm a bit tired of people appearing to have a go at people without much money who shop in Iceland.

gedwina Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi All > > Interesting reading, I was wondering if anybody > had any ideas on a small nature pond? Our back > garden is tiny but I would love to have a tiny > pond, I think it would have to be raised as the > main part of the garden is paved. > xxxxxxxx There are various internet sites advising on small wildlife ponds in raised tubs etc - if you google something like "wildlife pond tub" it should come up. If I get a minute I'll see if I can find anything. I was looking last night, but I'm a bit pushed for time at the moment (shouldn't be writing this :)) ) My tub is 60cm in diameter and 60cm deep, but I'm hoping to sink it into a corner of my garden. Hope there will be enough sun.

The Minkey Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sue - where are you based? xxxxxxx Off North Cross Road, so maybe not near enough to woods or parks for goldfinches :-S Hoping to get some frogs though as have just got a tub from a forum member to make a tiny pond with!

eucalyptus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- I definitely support M&S > or Waitrose moving in - preferably taking over > from Iceland - their chicken is far too cheap xxxxxxx I guess you're not on a pension or benefits then, eucalyptus. Not everybody can afford to buy organic free range, even if they would prefer to.