malumbu

Despite barriers and disinfectant, and leaving water out, I am still getting night time visits, probably from a fox, to my pond. A small pond plant pot is often removed, quite tidily, and left a short distance away on the grass. Would a fox really do this to get at the pond. curiouser and curiouser.

Nantes is a great place to visit (when safe), it probably has a lot of parallels with Bristol and a port and its role in facilitating the slave trade. Recognition of this historical wrong is everywhere in Nantes (without any feeling that this is tokenism or some sort of over reaction). Maybe the same in Bristol? I'm not sure. Interesting article - although I note they haven't renamed streets associated with the slave trade. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/world/europe/france-nantes-slave-trade-museum-memorial.html Oh and Jimmy Savile was a great philanthropist too. I don't expect any tears would be shed if a statue commemorating him was trashed.

Some of the posts remind me of a sketch in Alas Smith and Jones (BBC comedy from the last millennium for younger readers). Sadly not on Youtube. The camera is on excited scientists at Jodrell Bank on the verge of discovery of terrestrial life in another universe. The white noise from the radio telescope becomes clearer until they can hear a series of profanities "wonka, tossa" and the like

Here's a nice song we can all join in with And something a bit more provocative Bit cheesy but both relevant

Ahh Steven Grout, the much lamented Iain Banks was prophetic in his 1985 book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_on_Glass

Maybe she is returning to be near Peston, as he is a much better political journo

Thames Water should come and check, and in theory replace the supply up to the house (not all the way to the stop cock). But they are being crape at the moment, not picking up calls, then when using call back putting me back in the same queue. Blaming it on Covid-19 but they were being crape in terms of direct contact yonks ago. Their online registration seems to have reverted to a user interface from the early days of the Web. Don't you just hate people who have to revert to social media to whinge about a service provider!

Cat, go on admit it, this is not a minefield but a goldmine for you as you love a good argument and debate. Not the five minute one here but a full half an hour. Me? Just reinforces my views how much more tolerant and liberal society is in the UK, however imperfect we may be. To lob a small grenade in how does the last major riots in the UK (2011) compare with what we are seeing in the US. Not the size of course but the background/reasoning/managing. Extracting from Cameron's speech after the riots: This is a great country of good people. Those thugs we saw last week do not represent us, nor do they represent our young people - and they will not drag us down. It goes into stuff about broken society whether we have the "determination to confront the slow-motion moral collapse that has taken place in parts of our country these past few generations" Interesting reading. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pms-speech-on-the-fightback-after-the-riots

First came across him in Our Lucien in the Liverbirds, great in the drama GBH loosley based on Derek Hatton, younger generations Thomas the Tank Engine (softer toned narration than the original Ringo) and in more recent years narrated various stuff although not recorded on IMDB.

Between the meter and the stop cock. Cheers.

Wow - what have I missed? 1. America still a deeply polarised society. Far more racism over the pond 2. Not helped by Trump 3. All accounts very soicially distanced protest - and as pointed out things far worse where people congregating elsewhere. 4. Don't use 'they' please - it comes across as casual racism. I know it was not intended but the number of times I've heard White neighbours and the like say in hushed terms "they would wouldn't they"

Thanks both, really helpful, so not silly prices then and may be worth just bypassing the leak with polypipe. I'll take some further meter readings and of course contact Thames Water, it would be nice if they do help but it feels like this is for us to do. On a separate matter Bennison Heating managed to do a magic job installing 22mm gas piping when the boiler was replaced without removing a very fitted kitchen. Still not sure how you did it Peter.

Water bills and meter reading suggest a small leak, a few litres and hour, from the meter to the house. There are no obvious areas of damp eg soggy soil, verdant grass, algae or damp under the hall floor. It's a 1930s house, with the original lead mains. I baulked at the idea of replacing it years ago as it seem to involve a lot of digging up the garden, lifting floor boards. Please don't lecture me on lead poisoning. There are specialist companies who can find leaks (sonics, trace gas and the like) but haven't a clue how much it costs to locate and repair. There hasn't been any particularly major ground movements or subsistence, most neighbours who had problems were due to some mechanical disturbance like building works, and there the water would come to the surface. Lead has the great advantage of being very flexible and does not corrode. Anyone advise from their own experience? A few minutes of Googling wasn't that helpful. For example it could be a connection leak where the pipe was disturbed when the meter was fitted.

Government advice: https://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/nonionising/faqs.htm Whole teams of scientists advise on this. I worked with them on ionising radiation in the past. Although worryingly the Centre for Radiation and Chemical and Environmental Hazards of Public Health England (formerly National Radiological Protection Board) has all but disappeared from the gov web site.

Alternatively you can donate this money to the zillions of good causes out there. Funding lawyers is not my #1 priority.

Slippy slope once BoJo said all drive to the beach. Funny how we can only drive to our own beaches. Also feel that all the relaxations are retrospective, people were already congregating before today's announcement.

Sue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > malumbu Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > > > > > Funnily enough the only harm from the spikes > was > > to me! Karma. > > > Oh dear, hope you weren't too badly harmed, > malumbu? Only my pride!

You can also boo for Michael O'leary tonight, sorry not very helpful but not the easiest company to deal with

The question is why boo? It seems to be a British way of showing disapproval. So what is wrong with booing, particularly if it is clear who you are booing at (a little late to show disapproval of Dylan for going electric). Not sure why there are so many po faced people on line. Cheer if you wish. Dylan denying there is a problem, sounds familiar Here's another clip, this time of young people showing disapproval at a former PM - as featured at the end of a documentary on protest music by the Great John Peel Also had the pleasure of being at the Bastille Day celebrations at the French Embassy when the then Foreign Secretary got boo'd by a very exclusive audience shortly after the referendum, during his mummbly speech

I'm still a bit lost. Is the reason for quarantine (or quaranteen for those between 13 and 19) because of the dangers of catching Covid-19 when actually traveling - plane and ferry? If so shouldn't those using public transport in this country for any length of time also go into quarantine? If I go to France there is a lower level of coronavirus in the country, therefore I am less likely to get it from actually being in that country then when in the UK (OK there will be regional variations). Dependent on controls of course but Closing borders/bringing in quarantine at the height of transmission, particularly for those where there is a low rate of infection, makes great sense. During the recovery phase much less so.

Rather short but Brenchley Gardens is good, nice straight road, you could get up to a ton before checking to see your brakes work at the speed camera. If you miss the speed camera then your eyesight is not up to scratch. I expect that is why there is so much speeding traffic on this road. For a further challenge you could continue up towards Brockley where road narrowing, pedestrians and cyclists provide further challenges, perhaps 80mph is more suitable. If you do have an accident with another road user or pedestrian you have the valid excuse that it was OK for Dom and he writes the rules.

In deed that is why government had a recent campaign. Quite simple - can you read a number plate at 20 metres (that is 3 3/8 of a chain in old money). So rather than drive 60 miles, or go to spec savers Dom could have simply paced out 20 metres to another can and checked he could read the number plate. I think I may e-mail him this advice https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dvla-asks-drivers-to-look-again-in-new-eye-735t-campaign

I've also got a saggy bottom, don't think that the oven was hot enough, but any practical advice? (on the line, not my home baking..)

Can anyone explain this? As most of mainland Europe is ahead of us in ending the lockdown with lower rates of infection it is more likely that the UK will export coronavirus. If it is a case of higher risk when you are actually traveling, then perhaps we should implement quarantine every time we go to the shops. I'm surprised there is not more (or any) backlash from the masses and travel industry. Greece and Spain planning to reopen their resorts is rubbing salt into this wound. It really cannot be some isolationist Brexit related thing. Surely. The easy solution is health monitoring by the airlines, track and trace will also be fairly easy. Ferries can probably manage social isolation. Then a country by country arrangement or dare I say even with the EU as a whole Perhaps there is a simple solution, perhaps Cummings has distracted up from more interest.

It may be a silly thing to do but we are in weird times, where for the first time we have a prime minister who lacks integrity, underpinned by someone who lacks humility (and numerous other traits we would expect), as we seem to slide towards an American way of politics where flawed/sociopath character seems to win you popular support. Having to wait four years adds to the frustration. Having a big riot in Trafalgar Square, returning to my reference to Class War, was similarly an immature thing to do, but it was one piece of direct action/mass disobedience that did have some impact, albeit pushing at an open door as many Tory MPs did not support the poll tax