Regulo

"But, if it was a third of the time it would be a third if the fees!" Exactly! The blathering and dithering is unbelievable. And every piece of evidence has to be examined and re-examined to within an inch of it's life. Mind you, the case I was on at the Old Bailey seemed open and shut guilty, until Dingle Foot (ex-Labour leader Michael's brother) got his brain into gear - brilliant mind! Had the whole court doubting their own names in the end!

I've been called 3 times, one of which was to the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey). We had to use the Guildhall, for some unspecified reason, and I really felt I'd been transported back in time to the 19th century! My advice to anyone called is to go if you possibly can - I found the whole experience really interesting. But the waiting around and snail's pace of proceedings can be a drag. Start at 10, break at 12, back at 2 off at 4. That's unless the judge decides he/she's had enough and cuts things short at a convenient point in proceedings. One case I was on took 6 weeks - I swear it could have been dealt with in 2.

I had a Riley Elf automatic - fantastic little car. But it would have been uneconomic for me to have repaired at the time. Afraid the rot had got too much of a hold. I still miss the sheer fun of skittling around in that car. Wish I could have stored it somehow, I could afford to repair it now!

There's a sight I don't relish! Perhaps you were more angelic in those times, MM? Had to have a dose of Efudix cream on one of my ears a few years back, a result of my wing-nut ears catching too many rays in childhood, I'd warrant.

My favourite. You can mudweight anywhere. Place is one of the best for watching kingfishers.

If it's the same as I'm thinking, you don't get value for money IMO. Across Oulton broad, up the dyke, and turn back just past the Waveney Inn. Not particularly picturesque, and could give a "take-it-or-leave-it" impression of the Broads as a whole. Better to stay North for a first visit, I'd think Simpsons at Wayford. A bit quieter than Wroxham or Potter.

MM, can you let me know when you're ready to cut the next piece of wood? I might make the 2 hour journey just for the sheer enjoyment of watching someone worse at woodwork than I am.

Should try the bus round the Isle of Wight. Sit up top, and when you're not in mid-air, you're picking bits of tree out of your hair.

I had a Riley Elf - same thing, Mini with an extended boot! Mine was automatic, and drove very nicely, until the rust got so bad it had to go!

That depends on which way he's facing. If he moored heading into the dyke from the river, he must be halfway down. But if he turned at the dyke end, then moored, he'd be halfway up. Or would he? What if he reversed in? Would he be neither up nor down?

If the boat has nav lights, and if it's instrument illumination, it may be active only when the nav lights are on i.e. you can switch the instrument illumination off.

The deeper windows make a BIG difference if you're stuck inside - you don't have to crane your neck to see out!

Went to see him record one of his daytime chat shows, never laughed so much. During breaks, he was even funnier. I'm not a fan of drag acts, but he was a genuinely nice man. A great loss.

Hmmm, AI. I drive a Tesla (because it suits my purposes admirably, not because I want to save the planet). It has an auto setting for the wipers. When I got the car in September 71, they were totally unusable. But Tesla monitors the whole fleet permanently, and applies AI to update how things work in the real world. I now leave the wipers in auto, and they very rarely don't work as expected. So AI can work well in certain well-defined situations. Whether trawling the public web for base input is a good idea, we'll have to see.

Nope, a wall mounted. I installed it myself, back in the long ago when you could do that sort of thing - probably illegally, but I haven't been a)gassed or b)blown up, so I must have done it right! It actually came as a full kit from a company that provided a nylon microbore system, with a 25 year guarantee. Which was great for 10 years, then the pipes turned to dust!! Of course the company was long defunct by then. Had to re-pipe the lot in copper, which royally p***ed me off.

Let's have a "Who's got the oldest boiler" competition. Mine is an Ideal Standard fitted in 1981, still bumbling away happily. No fancy circuit boards, just a transformer, gas control valve, and thermocouple. A 10 year old could fix it. I've had to change the mains transformer twice in 42 years - total cost about £25. Course now it's bound to pack up!

Private boats may also use Richardsons basins if you ask permission, but not on changeover days. Never been refused - and never asked to pay!

Griff's video is worth a look. But if you worry about rhond anchors, do what we used to do when hiring - pack a 2lb lump hammer! Sometimes the ground is just toooooo hard.

I had an electric winch on my boat. In my experience it made no difference that the weight was lowered rather than dropped. There's a vast quantity of sticky mud on the bottom of most Broads, and after a few moments the weight is well and truly in it!

Best thing to do. Peace and quiet, no noisy neighbours - perfect. Let out plenty of slack, then you stand less chance of dragging the weight. If you don't have an electric winch, and the weight is stuck, take up as much slack as you can, fasten off, and go slow astern to break the suction. Then haul in. I've mudweighted on practically every broad.

Wasn't the minister for transport at the time Ernest Marples? Of Marples Ridgeway, the road builders of motorways? Some incentive there to close railways, if you have a cynical mind!

This is a last resort, and is usually done the other way round - to use the domestic batteries to pull up the starter battery. Not to be recommended, in my opinion.

I know I shouldn't, but am I allowed to laugh?

Postcard from Pitsea. Glad you're not here, having a lovely time. I'd say, if you keep a good eye on your batteries, intelligent regulators can make a world of difference to your cruising experience. Especially if you use the battery capacity heavily when stationary e.g. TV, heating, fridge etc. You don't have to run your engines for 6 hours to put back the juice. But they can shorten battery life, especially "sealed" types.

My avatar is a Sunbird of course.