I would just like to say

D1Nut said:

Being a gazillion miles away in saffaland I didn't think you mud island people still did things like the above. It seems to be a scource of pride and a lot more prevalent than I imagined

Good work

I hope you lot don't add gravy to any of these when dishing up

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Just the start be in full swing for the next month from cabbage to coriander and basal to beetroot when world war 3 starts we will say never mind business as usual

Today's plans got a bit disrupted. "Er indoors was to got to M&S to collect something and I was to set off in me tratter an hour later, we would meet up at where I store me tratter while I am away (off to the sunny isle tomorrow). And she would bring me home. She phoned me ten minutes after setting off to say someone had run into the back of her car and was returning home. Took her about an hour to notify / sort details with her insurance provider, a good bit of that time was wasted on call centre babble and krap music, but sorted efficiently once she got a human on the end of the phone. I gave the car a check over, all lights etc working ok, dent in the tailgate should press out by hand, and a few hairline cracks on the rear bumper where the plastic got pushed and only paint deep. So no big deal, it was a low speed push by all accounts and I should be able to sort it myself. The big downside is, I had to go to M&S with her after we dropped the tratter off. But I did get some stuff for me nose bag while I was in there.

6pot said:

Was that an Open Manta or R17? Either way a sad end.

I saw a Manta near Faro and got a couple of pics, think it was an 'A', it certainly had old plates on it, the ones when Portugal had white on black raised plastic numerals which looked a bit like the old UK ones. I'll have to find the pics, it was nearly 15 years ago thinking about it.

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It was the R17.
The Opel Manta was bought as a stop gap for £25, with a bad oil leak from the timing belt cover and front brakes with pads worn to the metal.
Went on a 2 week holiday to Cornwall, drove around each day as it rained all the time, took 4 gallons of oil with me and it used up the lot.
Taking the timing cover off was amazingly involved so I just didn't bother.
It was also very rusty. But it went like stink as it was a 1900, and the twin choke carb meant you could feel the spring so if you drove inside it it was pretty economical, but you had the power when you put your foot down.
Loved the looks of it, from the same stable as the Opel GT. Very sort of Yank looking.
Pics don't do it justice

And the rear end with the round lights were very distinctive.


Mine was a sort of golden brown with a vinyl roof,

On for €20k and although it is 1900 it is auto. Yuk!
Shame as it is very clean.

Was going to fail the MOT on massive rust underneath. Sold it to a mega enthusiast who had a silver one that was absolutely immaculate. The Opel garage used to put it in their showroom window sometimes, presumably to get the punters in. This would be in about 1987

6pot said:

By the way I think it was "Ullo John! Gotta new Motor?" Can't put my hand on it at the moment, its in a big box under another big box but I recall he's leaning on the back of a Cortina on the cover looking like you wouldn't want to meet him up a dark alley.

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In the vid he slides all over it, very energetically. It looks like he was about to have a cardiac arrest by the end !

Stone56 said:

Jack did every thing to do with country life ploughing shooting fishing coopering cider making tractors cars not much he didn't make a program about man after my own hart

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Sounds worth watching.
I do seem to remember seeing him doing something about fishing. He always had a very cool delivery, but natural, didn't get over excited. but then I must have only seen about arf a dozen things he did. Couldn't even name any programmes he was on.

Stone56 said:

Weed killer for 3yrs will do it should have had tera membrane installed?

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The problem is that when we had the car park done our, at the time son in law, a builderer, put loads of scalpings down then compressed them with one of those machines, before laying gravel down. It was fine for years.
BUT there was one corner he didn't do as at the time we were trying to make our mind up about using it for something else. So that corner got weedy and then they just spread. We did put gravel down, but that was all.
We have put brush killer down etc but maybe not enough or not consistently enough.
Our horticultural dottir told us a method using glyphosphate where you put a rubber glove on inside a cotton glove, then soak the glove in the weed-killer before running your hand up and down each mare's tail individually. And this after a gentle spray to get their pores open. We'd (pun) need to be there all year round to get on top of it. we do now have a gardener who weeds it but I do not know in detail what he uses or how.

...that following the departure of the CH engineers from hell yesterday their boss called this morning to ask how I found the new system. He was dismayed to hear my opinion of his minions and my disappointment in their general demeanour towards me the customer. I gave him both barrels, reloaded and gave him 2 more. I did not hold back.

Why did "I" the customer have to go get plumbing supplies from my local outfit while your blokes juggles their bollocks and danced from foot to foot instead of jumping in one of their vans to go buy the parts required? - He had no answer.

He was amazed to hear that his representatives made the following statements to me....
"I don't know why people get rid of these old boilers, they last forever and they are much better than the crap we install nowadays."

"Warranty? Try claiming on it, they always wriggle out of the claim."

The system works, but they left me no user manual, didn't fit the monoxide alarm on the wall but just perched it on the top of the boiler (a sloping surface....that it fell from onto the floor.

........and....breathe

Two of the pipe-clips are sprung-open because the pipes are under strain and they cannot hold the pipes in place.

Today I have been reworking our airing cupboard now that the hot water tank is gone so that we can make better use of the space. Thank god I will never-ever have to do this ever again.