*Bob*

Yeah that would probably work better. tbh I didn't really like the way the sawdust thing looked anyway.. it looked a bit like fluff, dirt and 'stuff' had just fallen into the cracks and built-up. I prefer the gaps between the boards look - just not the icy blasts that rush up from them during winter. I was only doing sporadic areas though, not a whole room.

Strips of wood / splicing is the top-end solution - but it's only as good as the person who does it and can take a long time and cost wedge. If you've got lots of variation in gaps it's a bit of an art to get it looking good. I started out with a bag of sawdust and a tin of clear sticky stuff and did a few experiments first - decided pretty quickly it would succumb to gravity in lots of places. And it was a real arse. I should say the purpose of the draughtex is to.. er.. seal the gaps and stop draughts, not to fill the gaps for a visual effect for a flat, gapless floor - it can't do that!

I think it depends on your gap sizes, the colour of your floor, what you want it to look like - and the level of effort and cost you're interested in. In the end - for ours - I used some stuff which I think is called 'draughtex' now, which is a big roll of squashy dark grey rubber tubing that you stretch out and push in with a supplied applicator tool. It's easy to use, no glue/mess, looks good (with our colour floorboards anyway, you don't really see it), isn't permanent in case you change your mind later - and most importantly, hasn't fallen out yet. If there's a lot of variation in your 'gaps' you might need a couple of different width tubes. If the gaps are really big, over a certain width, it won't work. They used to let you order a few free samples to try it out first..

'M&S Lordship Lane'.. I'm intrigued. What will they sell there? What will it be like? I can't wait to find out. I suppose the only that might come close would be any one of the other 914 M&S stores in the UK.

Is 'Mind Your Language' getting a revamp as well? Let's hope so.

If there's one area I think yesteryear was really, really good and trumps 'these days' - it's kids TV. Obvs there's a bit of nostalgia mixed-in here, but I think a lot of that stuff at the time was genuinely great, innovative, exciting, imaginative - and actually more sophisticated in many ways. I look at a lot of what 'our kid' (and his friends) watch (given free choice in the matter) and I'm a bit dismayed. I can appreciate this is what 'the kids' do these days, consumption and delivery of this stuff is also different, but unfortunately I think a lot of it contributes to a lazy, short-watch, quick-hit, no concentration-required attitude which pervades. They don't miss what they never had of course - but to me, they're missing out.

I miss 'event' TV a bit - a throwback to yesteryear. If you weren't there watching, you missed it. Lots of anticipation, a proper social / family event. That's mostly gone now - apart from sport I suppose.

I think your choices are: Not unbearable - Open window Quite unbearable - buy fan Unbearable - install aircon All three are perfectly fine choices, depending on bearability.

malumbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- (not sure about > Del Boy - which does seem very dated). It's a shame about OFAH - it's been going for so long - in ever-dimishing (decreasing - ha ha!) circles - that it's easy to forget how good the first outings were. They were really, really good - and one of the few old sitcoms that still hold up now. I hope to god I never have to see the 'batman and robin' scene AGAIN shown as a 'funniest moment, like, evaaah' clip.. The average age of BBC1 viewers is now 60. BBC2 is older. Hence the feeble 'hey - remember when you were younger, guys?' re-makes.

I hope ITV follow suit and does a Benny Hill update as well. The hilarious antics of a middle-aged man sexually assaulting teenage girls (accompanied by hysterical canned laughter) should bring back tremendous memories for anyone who misses that comedy gold from days gone by.

I can't say 'craft shop' fills me with tremendous excitement, but anything that isn't an estate agent or identikit curry house is good news. Hopefully it will return The Spirit Of Ralon back to LL - with CCTV, tripwires and a machine gun nest guarding the Staedtler pen carousel.

malumbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Do you like having curtains symetrical and > pictures hung level? yes

Jah Lush Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The greengrocer went out of business because the > owner couldn't be bothered to run it. I thought it was more to do with a family dispute over the lease? (gossip, gossip, chatter chatter)

The only people I know who chose to be buried (which is, admittedly, not many) chose it partly because it 'is' a public, permanent and living memorial - 'here I am' - as opposed to scattered on a hilltop or whatever. From a non-mourning point of view, I like seeing cemeteries and think the changes are a big improvement. Perhaps a few well-spaced / carefully placed ornamental trees would be a good compromise?

It's a bit like what happened with the football - about which other likeminded individuals also enjoy chatting about regularly. Every day there used to be a new thread about, umm, Gazza's new boots or Rudi Voller's latest haircut etc etc. It wasn't exactly 'taking over' but it was enough to irritate some, certainly enough to comment. Then someone started a thread called football focus, where all comments about hair and boots could be corralled - unless something 'wider' in the football world cropped-up, such as what flavour crisps Lineker was promoting or some such revelation, in which case a new thread seemed reasonable because it was in the wider public interest. It seemed a natural development and - basically - it stopped some people using the multiple threads as an opportunity to poke fun at people who seemed unnaturally obsessed with men kicking balls and their hair. But obviously there aren't really any rules, so do and say whatever you like, wherever you like, just as others have on this thread. That's the deal, innit?

I MISS THE DRAWING ROOM THESE DAYS

Fair enough. Cheese tasters. Parking. End of society as we know it. On we go.

Strictly speaking, if people want to talk about M&S - they should use the old thread.

Ok you win Kids these days don't know they're born. You're a real hero. Enjoy your evening.

rupert james Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was not lucky I worked my arse off to buy my > house. But - you know - you *could*. And now, you know - they *can't*. So you were lucky. Because at least you could.

It takes a fairly warped sense of awareness to see a whole group of people who - unlike you - could never afford to buy a house without help, regardless of what job they might be able to get .. and still not realise it's you who's been the lucky one. Crazy.

You're doing really well, Louisa. Deep breaths. "Cool wet grass.. cool wet grass.."

rupert james Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When we and my generation bought it was it was > very different. That's right - when you bought it was actually affordable for most people to own a home.

I think you took that a bit too seriously Rupert. That said, there is actually quite a bit of difference between only having ?1 and having a property worth ?1m that you haven't sold. Ask someone who only has a pound what they think if you don't believe me.

Louisa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm running out of reasons to visit LL. A real > shame. Me too. Quite frankly if it weren't for the butchers, the fishmonger, the various grocers / greengrocers, the barbers, the stationers, the DIY shops, AJ Farmer, the cheese shop, the restaurants, the cafes, the pubs and the cinema ... I'd probably move.