Regulo

Was there ever a dual steer version of these? I'm sure I looked at one with similar lines when I was looking to purchase about 20 years ago.

Had to get shopping today, just essentials. Shoulder to shoulder in Lidl, and queue for 40 minutes to get through the till. If that's the government's idea of "social distancing" the population, it's the wrong way! But on the other hand I went to my usual establishment for lunch to find it empty apart from two other people. The staff, outnumbering customers by 4 to 1, were cleaning and disinfecting absolutely everything. I felt safer there than anywhere, especially Lidl!

So will Rene and I. I am not (quite) in the "vulnerable" age group, but Rene definitely is (don't ask, she'd kill me if I told you!). She insists we carry on, supporting our usual lunchtime haunts. This virus is out there, and can't be stopped, unless there's troops on the streets. I understand the reasoning behind the advice, but I don't see how it will help. If I get shopping for someone, I have to leave it on their doorstep - contaminated with whatever I've picked up in the shop. If I touch ANY public door handle, I've got it. If I sit indoors, it will not help one bit in the overall spread of this virus. Our economy will be decimated, with businesses going under, and great loss of jobs. So, we will carry on, as we always have, come what may.

There's the trouble. Even if you want to help the elderly and self-isolating, or get your own minimum of essentials, there's nothing on the shelves. What a mess!

Looking to the longer future, when all this has run it's course, will employers and employees realise there's a lot of jobs that currently involve commuting that can be done perfectly adequately from home? We should be aiming at reducing the stress and hassle of commuting for those able to work from home. With today's technology, a lot is possible. But don't tell the Government, HS2 MUST be built, to get rich people to Birmingham 20 minutes faster.

Please don't put anything other than toilet paper (and your doings) down the toilet. Other paper is not designed to readily break down in water, toilet paper is. You'll only block your drains if you put other sorts of paper (absorbent or otherwise) into the toilet.

You're obviously a cheapskate - mine said I'd paid £149!!!

The EA are giving up on protecting the Broads. Let the sea have them, seems to be the gist of it. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/norfolk-broads-flooding-environment-agency-warning-1-6552418

How long before some idiot suffocates themselves by wearing a plastic bag over their head?

The present outbreak of this virus, while undoubtedly worrying for the more vulnerable members of society, will run it's course and eventually be beaten, or more likely die out of it's own accord. I'm worried what will happen when a virus with, say, 50, 60 or even 100% mortality rate develops. It's proven now that we can't prevent the spread of these viruses globally, so what hope for us? I'm of the opinion it will be a global pandemic that will be the end of civilisation, rather than nuclear war or climate disaster.

£180.56

Sat outside there aged 9 with my cousin. Lemonade and bag of crisps. Can't go in a pub now without being assaulted with wailing kids running amok.

Don't know about that, I've used it for years with no trouble. My cousin, on the other hand, has used the latest version of whatever comes with Win 10, and been hacked twice. Does the default Mail not allow multiple accounts? Seems a bit remiss of Microsoft not to allow that.

Windows live mail does it, and BlueMail on phones and tablets. They're the ones I use.

He'd probably only just got into his stride!

I see a tick against that one - were you working your way through them all?

Being of the older generation, I (probably with most of my contemporaries) just can't "get" Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and all the rest of it. Why! Why bother with it, if you know it's going to end in tears? But to the youngsters, it seems there's no other way to live their life. And that's the problem, there's no support network that we had in the playground, chums who'd stick up for you when you needed help. Pals to spend time with out of school. Today's young seem destined to be lonely by choice, and that's not good for them, mentally.

I do bring my pump home, just open all taps, run pump until there's no more water from any of them, and flip the quick release connectors on the pump and take it out. I use Wago connectors for the pump supply, a 10 second job to disconnect/reconnect. I have a 90 degree valve at the lowest point, too. Leave it open, and also disconnect the shower flexibles, they're prone to trap water that's not easily drained.

"Problem being that these calls are generated from a VOIP (voice over internet phone) and you can spoof any number you wish. The phone companies can do nothing about it. as most of them hide behind a VPN (Virtual Phone Network) there is no way to track them that way either." Quoted from FairTmiddlin's reply to a previous topic on scams.

Read about this in the paper, so thought I'd take a look. Very interesting. It's to do with finding and recording footpaths that have been lost over the years. You select a search area on the map, and can then see a historic map of the area. Any paths you think should be there but aren't, you can draw them in and submit them. It's important, because after Jan 1st 2026, no changes will be allowed to the official maps. So any historical rights of way could be lost. https://dontloseyourway.ramblers.org.uk/find-lost-ways/

The only realistic leap forward in power generation is nuclear fusion. That's some way off being practical, as yet. As Gren states, even if we had unlimited power, there's no way to distribute it to the end user. Hydrogen is the way transport will go, but it will be a long way into the future. Do we have that long, I wonder?

Makes not the slightest difference what we (the UK) does or doesn't do. The US, China, India, Brazil, all developing nations will continue tipping the balance. We could all sit in mud huts around a single candle for heat and light, won't make a scrap of difference on a global scale. Not saying we shouldn't try, but bankrupting ourselves in a mad rush to deliver a carbon neutral economy makes no sense, to me. BTW, did you see the Ben Fogle episode a few weeks back, where he went to Siberia? Now that's worrying! If the perma frost melts and releases all the carbon presently locked into it, as the researcher says "We're up s**t creek without a paddle". Happy days.

The usual reason for drifting when mudweighted is too short length of rope/chain laid out. The longer the rope, the more any pull on the weight will be sideways through the gloop, rather than a drag over the top of it. Within reason, as much as you can comfortably let out will alleviate the tendency to drift. It still happens when the wind is strong, but I've found this method will hold in most situations.

Just a heads up, in case anyone's waiting for one. Lidl has a 12 volt oil pump on sale from Thursday 13th Feb, £12:99p.

Listen to a man who knows - Grendel! That's why it won't be happening anytime soon.