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about two years ago I bought a pair of Kickers shoes from a reputable shoe shop. I barely wear them, but the stitching has gone in a place where regular shoe repairers cannot deal with it. The shop in question won't deal with me because I paid by gift voucher and I do not have a receipt, and Kickers will not deal with me because a) I am a member of the public and b) according the the Shoes Industry Board, shoes have a life of no more than six months.
This is crazy. Anyone any ideas whatI can do that is cost effective. The shoes cost £60 so going to law is pointless.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
{Name of shoe shop ommited. DD}
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E,
I got a pair of Kickers about 5 years ago and they fell to bits in less than a year (worn frequently though).
You might want to bear that in mind when you go hunting for people to fix them.
Good Luck,
Adam
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Well to start off with, the Sales of Goods Act does not require you to have a receipt. The shop do not have to issue one, so cannot expect you to produce one.
The next point is, 2 years for a pair of shoes with a good reputation is not very long. I would expect the life of such shoes that are not your main shoes to be much longer. You paid £60 (doesn't matter how you paid) for a pair of shoes. Had you spent £6, then your arguement would be weak. However £60 is a fair investment for something that goes on your feet!
Go back to the shop, ask to speak with the manager, and state the facts, and if they refuse again, quote the Sales of Goods Act to them - hopefully this will help get a reaction. If this does not work, then let them know that you have no option but to go to Trading Standards, and let them deal with the breach of the Act. The SOG is available in an easy to read format, so it may be worth you while just reading that before you go.
Good luck!
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except that after two years I cant see you getting anywhere. I would mark it up to experience and buy better in future.
Anyone living near northampton should check out the factory shops in the town and area. (barkers, lobb, trickers, c&j, etc)
there is a nice smug feeling to be gained by standing on the pavement in shoes that cost £50, looking at the same ones in the window of holland & holland at £260.
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I disagree with that - I bought a microwave in 2001 and the touch screen started to go funny in October - I contact both the shop where I bought it from and the manufacturer, and both were sympathetic and the shop offered to repair it for me for free, and the manufacturer had the replacement part in the post to me within a few days. (I'm not sure I should have been given that as I'm not qualified to open a microwave, but I did anyway!)
All works fine now and I'm very happy with the service.
You see, 2 years is nothing......
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>>as I'm not qualified to open a microwave>>
I'm very, very surprised that the shop and manufacturer involved allowed you to repair a microwave yourself.
At the very least you should now request that the shop conducts a leakage test of the oven.
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As I said, I think I was more surprised that I was issued the part myself!
I am however, competent at doing the repair, especially as it only involved removing the cover, and unplugging the old screen and replacing it with the new one. I have worked with this kind of electronics before so I knew I was able to do it myself. (I used to work in a lab where there was a pile of gamma sources in a small make shift lead box! - H&S didn't know what to do when they saw that!)
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When I was about 6 I had this bedroom sidelight. It was basically a bulb with a coloured cylinder around it with shapes etched on it. The heat of the bulb caused it to rotate, sending colourful images around the bedroom walls and ceiling at night.
I was thinking of getting yongster one for Christmas but can anyone remember these and if they are still for sale?
Thanks.
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They're called "Magic Lanterns". There are modern ones for sale but they generally have Disney images or such-like on them. Ebay has quite a few but you should be able to track others sources through Google.
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sending colourful images around the bedroom walls and ceiling at night.
Thas funny, I remember that from my years of about 16 - 30. Dont remember a lamp being involved tho.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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IIRC I saw some in Homebase recently. Not very expensive and good for young children.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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I saw one in George Henry Lees (John Lewis) in Liverpool last week - try their website if no store nearby.
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This link takes you to the Great Little Trading Company that do them.
At £32.99 they are way overpriced but at least you know what you're looking for when you go looking in the high street for a £20 one. They are great and I've seen them come in all sorts of effects...space, under the sea, farm etc etc. Those discovery stores have probably got them too.
www.gltc.co.uk/ProductDetails.aspx?language=en-GB&...1
Happy hunting
--
If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished
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Thanks to all. I shall have a look around the shops tomorrow.
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OK, I quite like some pieces of classical music, but I'm hopelessly under-educated about it, so:
The Chanel advert with Nicole Kidman in it, what's the piece of music being played?
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Clair De Lune by Debussy.
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And if you're going to be picky, then yes. De should have a small d on it.
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Wow. You Focus drivers are cultured.
Cheers Adam.
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Of course, another question pops it's head now. Since the individual performance can make such a difference, does anyone know who that version was performed by?
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I'll impress you even more. I can play it on the piano too!
It's from Suite Bergamasque and yes - I should get out more.
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It's a beautiful piece of music but when Nicole's on I'm not listening to the music....:-)
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I'll impress you even more. I can play it on the piano too! It's from Suite Bergamasque and yes - I should get out more.
>>
You certainly should. Indoors at 10.54 on a Friday evening! I thought you were a student? Haven't you read the manual?
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Calling any Actuaries - does anyone know what the odds are of the average 80 year old person surviving another year?
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www.gad.gov.uk/Life_Tables/Interim_life_tables.htm
Has all the life table info you need - you need to download them.
In the US the probability of an 80 year old dying within the next year is 0.074337 - 7.4%. UK will be similar.
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Thank you daveyjp, just what I needed.
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For what it's worth ~ which may not be much if you want a serious answer! ~ see the folowing website.
www.deathclock.com/
--
L\'escargot.
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Does anyone know the lengths a university will go to if the tuition fees for the year aren't paid? I haven't paid mine this year because it's a lot of money to stump up and I've been more concerned about paying the rent on my house!
I have a letter threatening to impose a twenty pound penalty if it's not paid by the end of January, but nothing worse. My parents won't pay it for me, and to pay it myself will thrust me deep into overdraft, which I'd rather not do.
So, is the university (Leeds) likely to send debt collectors after me or try to obtain CCJs?
Alternatively, will they prevent me from continuing my degree next year? I will certainly be able to pay them (and next years) over the summer.
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Ours have said they won't give you your degree unless you pay. (Third year) They said when we started, they wouldn't let us progress to the next year if we didn't pay either.
If you never paid (and I'm talking about at all not a couple of months late) then I would imagine they'd pursue it. I strongly advise you to go to your Finance Office or Student Information Centre and have a chat.
Can you not pay in installments? I paid 400 quid in November, I think they take another 400 in February and then the final 400 in May or something like that. Might ease the pressure.
(Just think yourself lucky you're not starting in September when they'll be 3 grand a year!)
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Yeah, paid my first year by cheque when I registered. Unfortunately, I had to resit a couple of maths exams last summer so wasn't able to get much [paid] work done.
We were given the option to pay in installments, but I chose to pay the full amount before I realised that I would't be able to. Will worry about it after Christmas, I think. :-)
I wouldn't even be in this situation had the government not had the insane idea of trying to get 50% of people into university, the majority of which are doing pointless degrees. For the record, I'm doing a Physics degree.
Adam, if you're doing David Beckham Studies (or similar), I apolgise now! Thanks for your help.
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go on then. How does the expansion of education impact your ability to pay your bills ?
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go on then. How does the expansion of education impact your ability to pay your bills ?
It's a long and involved story, but from what I can tell it's because the starting salary for most graduates is now so low (circa 14k [ www.grb.uk.com/grad_salaries.0.html ]) that the government does not recover the costs of education in higher taxes paid by university leavers.
Problem solved, anyway, I just wrote a cheque for the full amount and posted it. Knew there was a reason the bank gave me a 1500 pound overdraft.
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Ah, now we know the answer to that other thread "How do young guys afford flash motors"!!!!!
Sorry David, having had 2 children go through University (both at Leeds which is a good place and easy to spend money in!!), I know the financial pressure - Adam's advice is good though. Hope your bank is reasonable with the overdraught interest - hope you've checked?
Phil
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Hey, not bad - tell you what - arrange a bigger overdraught, and I'll borrow money from you and pay you 3% (negotiable??). You could pay fees and overdraught off with profit from me!! Or I'll buy you lunch in the Arch (Arc??) in Headingley tomorrow! Got some repairs to do on son's house in Headingley!!
Good luck in studies and debt repayment!
Phil
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Well, I was considering taking 1500 quid out of my current account and putting it in overdraft, and then putting that money in Egg's new 4% account. Now, of course, it's gone to the university.
I suppose one advantage is that I'm getting a much better deal compared to the people who only have 2 lectures a week!
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>I wouldn't even be in this situation had the government not had the insane idea of trying to get 50% of people into university
I believe the idea is not to get 50% into university, but to make places available for 50%--not quite the same thing--but I may be wrong. Incidentally, degree level has always been much lower than most people imagine. The Victorian version of the degree, which is pretty much what we still use, enabled middle-class offspring to decode the classical language and esoteric procedures of the civil service, law, and the banks, where most of them went on to work. A certain amount of "culture" was needed to prove you were "one of us," and it still is. Graduates are certainly not and never have been the finished article; the vocational subjects such as medicine and law, for instance, all require further study.
Adam is right. They won't let you graduate unless you pay up.
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I am sitting on an office-type chair with a gas spring in it and a height adjustment lever sticking out of the side. Recently It has become less springy and I believe that the gas spring is defunct (rather than me becoming more corpulent). A salvaged chair has yielded a gas spring with identical dimensions but a different frame supporting the seat. My question is; how to you remove the frame from the gas spring? It looks as though it's a push fit but it's resisted all attempts to release it so far. Is is inadvisable to take a welding torch to it to swell the surrounding frame? Are these things assembled with a hydraulic press? Anyone with any suggestions, or, better, experience of repairing your standard bouncy office chair?
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
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Having bought one of these in flat pack I know that the seat is an interference fit.I've stood up and tried to pull it off,I have only succeeded in getting a hand covered in black grease,so I think a couple of years of sitting on it has stuck it firmly together(the seat,not the hand).If the frame is scrap can't you cut it off?The gas is nitrogen I believe so heat could be used with care.
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Hawkeye, please don't try to dismantle the actual spring itself, the forces contained are quite high and potentially could cause a nasty injury.
I have seen a Health and Safety newsletter with a photo of the top of one of these gas springs sticking up through the base of a chair for about three inches. If someone was sitting on it I'm sure they had a bit of a surprise. I'm sure that this was an isolated case but does demonstrate the forces that can be involved so I would suggest that you take it carefully and make sure you are out of the firing line!
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The driveway to my dad's house crosses a steep hill at right angles, and then the driveway itself has an upwords slope on it. And he wants to put wooden gates up!
The height of the ground at one gate post will probably be about 3-4 feet higher than the other one. Also, there is an actual upwords slope on the driveway so if you opened the gates inwards(which is the only way) the gate would be swinging up a hill by maybe 2 feet.
Any ideas how to go about this? Is there specialist hinges out there to accomodate such things? I was thinking maybe if there was some sort of "moveable pivotal hinge" then if I put a wheel at the bottom of each gate then this would take the weight and be able to push against the moveable hinge?
Another idea might be "concertina" style gates that fold back on themselves. The driveway opening is probably at least 12 feet.
Any design ideas?
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This sounds expensive!
Would a sliding gate work? i.e. a gate that would slide out of the way of the drive behind the fence / hedge / wall adjacent?
Incidentally, why can't the gates open outwards?
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I would agree that a sliding gate would be preferable in this situation, but if this is not possible, then there are hinges which could lift up as they open, but whether they would have the ability to lift the gate this much, I would very much doubt.
The concertina effect idea is a great one - its what many people in France have in their garages. Only problem I could forsee with it is that I think that you would require some kind of support on the top of the gate aswell!
Why is it never simple :-)
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Gates can't open out as they would be opening over the pavement and also probably over part of the actual road. Likewise, he can't use sliding gates as there is a brick wall at either side.
Need to try a few builder type merchants to see what there is available in the way of hinges!
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One of my mates has a two cars wide entry at the side of his house (he's on a corner) and has a metal gates setup.
The left hand side gate, which forms two-thirds of the width, folds inwards halfway and can be swung back towards the hinges without hitting either of the family's two cars. The right hand side gate opens as normal and, again, there is sufficient clearance.
It's an elegant solution to a tricky problem, but does require a quality gate manufacturer to ensure accurate hinges and consistent opening and closing sequences.
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Bobby.one way to overcome the lift needed at the point of the gate is to make a slide for the bottom hinge so that it is ridgid sideways but lets it move lengthways .you also need to put a swivel in the top hinge to let it tilt.I made a similar type hinge for another job and it works well,simply made with a 4in box section fastened to the gate and an 18in peice which slides through it with an eye on the other and which sits on the pin,if the gate is heavy a small wheel on the point may help.I could perhaps photograph my design for you if you need it ,it works very well at the job its doing
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Defender, that sounds an interesting design. Any chance of a photo of it? Email it to the mods and they can pass on, just whenever it suits you, I don't think we will be doing anything about it for the next few weeks!
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In my lounge I have changed the light switch for my wall lights from a double switch to a double dimmer switch. Each circuit has two wall lights both fitted with 2 60W G9 mains voltage halogen bulbs. A total of 240W per circuit.
Well one circuit has now blown 2 dimmer switches. What would cause this to happen as the circuit works fine with a regular switch. Is the loading too high? Both dimmers blew after the lights had been on full power for over 20 minutes (after working fine for several weeks before).
Alternatively could there be an earthing fault with either a light fitting or with the switch. It might be possible that a cable exiting the wall was badly trimmed by the previous owner (he was a nightmare with any electrics he touched).
When I change to switch again I would like to know whether the electronic controlled dimmers are better than the conventional dimmers and worth the extra money.
Any advice would be appreciated as I want to permanently sort this problem out.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Dimmer switches contain a small semi-conductor device that can go if it gets too hot. And it gets warm with use. Check the rating to see that it is suitable for the 240W load you are using. It may have only a 100W rating.
I have not looked at them for some time. I do remember being surprised with how small a device they get away with using.
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Thank you buzbee, I will check it.
--
Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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I am planning to fly to Australia (Melbourne) in March and returning from Brisbane in April.
Does anyone know of a website that lists the airlines providing flat beds in business class?
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I am planning to fly to Australia (Melbourne) in March and returning from Brisbane in April. Does anyone know of a website that lists the airlines providing flat beds in business class?
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Not being rude but not sure how savvy you are on the subject to date.
IIRC there are about 25 airlines on the kangaroo route from UK.
Are you looking for
One aircraft that takes you the whole way
One airline that takes you the whole way
Any combination of airlines with a change anywhere along the route.
The obvious airlines
www.airlinequality.com/Product/Review/flat_review....m
Be aware of the likes of Qantas that change aircraft at SIN etc although it may be the same flt no all the route.
OAG is THE airlines trade timetable database and I think you can sample it for an unbiased list of who flies the route.
Then have a look at the contenders.
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Suggest Thai airways, or singapore airways.
All airlines stop over, so its a matter of where that suits you.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Suggest Thai airways, or singapore airways. All airlines stop over, so its a matter of where that suits you. ------------------------------ TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Thanks for that. The stops en-route are of less concern to me than whether I can get my tiny head down!
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Hi All
A bit of a strange one
Our fridge is getting very cold, it keeps freezing things, but it makes no difference if we have the little adjuster wheel set to 5 or 1, and as the manual has long since disappeared I'm a bit stuck as to what is causing it. I have pu a small thermometer in there and the temp fluctuates between 4 and 1 degees C and did once go down to -1.
Any ideas?
Oh if it makes any difference, its a Service fridge standard 600mm under counter jobbie approx 5 years old.
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Does it have a condensation drain at the rear (inside) which may be blocked?
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Thermostat may have welded itself shut.
I stripped my fridge to get at the beastie(behind the adjusting wheel)and exercised it a few times with a small screwdriver.No problems since.
Unplug fridge before you fiddle.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Almost cetainly the thermostat, check to see how long the compressor runs between cycles. Also see if any ice is formed at back of fridge.
Often it costs as much to repair as a new small fridge.
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Arcool-C, I work "in the trade". The main fridge is working ok by the sound of it. I would check that the thermostat sensing phial is attached to the evaporator plate and hasn't dropped off or become detached.
If it is ok, then there is a fair chance that, as mentioned above, the contacts have welded themselves together. The control knob may have an off position which will force the contacts apart. Cycling it on and off may well clear the problem.
I don't know how difficult it is to acess the thermostat, but if you can do so, and read the manufacturer's name and some sort of reference number, post them and I will see if I can find a match in my stock of bits. If I can, we'll take it from there.
If the manufacturer is Ranco, there will be a "K" number, ie K50 1234. If it is Danfoss, it will be something like 077B1234.
Any other manufacturer, find what you can.
HTH
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Cheers MJM, I had a shufty last night, the thermostat is easily accessed at the top where the light is. I took it out and all seemed ok, no signs of the contacts welded together, so I put it all back together and we'll see how it goes.
I have only read your reply this morning so I don't know the make of the thermostat, but if it still looks dicky tonight when I get home I'll have another look.
If it helps this is my fridge.
www.servisuk.co.uk/Products/refrigerationset.htm
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I know we have a few knowledgable people out there and I wondered if you could help me identify a problem we seem to have.
We have a conventional boiler for the HW and CH with a small water tank in the loft. When we were getting the xmas decorations out of the loft we noticed that the water in this tank was very hot and have also noticed that the pump is getting noisy and that the water in the rads is gurgling/sploshing sometimes.
We still have hot water and central heating but I'm pretty certain that something is about to go pop just in time for xmas. I'm guessing that the pump might be on its way out as it is quite old - or is there something else ? Any help or advice very gratefully received.
Thanks
P
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I can't see how it could be the pump.
It could be the coil in the cylinder has become perforated, which will mean a new cylinder.
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tank in the loft getting hot is because heat rises,nothing to worry about there as this is usual in a lot of open or gravity systems
if the pump is getting noisier than usual just get a pump as a spare and change it if it fails.
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We had a similar situation a couple of winters ago. I would be concerned about hot water in your loft tank. This happened to us and was a result of the boiler simply heating too much water and dumping it via the relief pipe up into the loft tank. This water was so hot that it had softened the overflow pipe which then just fell away from the tank. It also made the tank very soft and pliable - if it had got any worse we could have been woken by a hot shower coming through the roof! It also meant that our loft was like a sauna on a couple of occasions which didn't do much for the junk up there.
Our hot water tank was totally scaled up, so we ended up having that replaced. I'd definitely recommend getting a plumber in to check your boiler though.
Sorry I don't have anything more constructive to say!
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>>is because heat rises<<
But surely not to heat the water up to such levels?
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But surely not to heat the water up to such levels?
Not at all with HW, as the HW tank inlet is at the bottom of it so heat would have to sink first!
--------------
Mike Farrow
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I was once told by a heating engineer that you can get circulation through the header tank (which would make it hot) if the tank outlet and/or the expansion pipe are connected into the system at the wrong points. I think it's wrong to have the expansion pipe connected into the system upstream of the tank outlet connection point, but I'm not certain. Also I think that circulation through the expansion tank can result from a partial blockage in the pipe from the tank outlet to the system. I'll try racking my feeble brain!
--
L\'escargot.
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Having re-read the original post ~ " .....we noticed that the water in this tank was very hot and have also noticed that the pump is getting noisy......." ~ and having racked my brain it sounds similar to a problem that we had after we had had a new hot water cylinder fitted. The noise was caused by air in the system. There was a partial blockage in the outlet pipe from the header tank and this made it very difficult to bleed the system and hence some air remained. Any remaining air will normally (but not always if there is a partial blockage) gradually disappear up the tank outlet pipe.
The fault also caused circulation through the header tank to occur ~ see my last post.
(As it happens we didn't do anything about it because we moved house shortly afterwards, so I can't tell you about the rectification of the problem. The people who fitted the new cylinder couldn't see to it at the time because it was outside their remit ~ the new tank was a British Gas service contract job.)
--
L\'escargot.
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sounds to me like your system is "pumping over". That is pumping hot water up to the expansion tank via the feed pipe, or via the expansion pipe.
Both are symptoms of a very sick scaled up system, or one that is overheating the water.
whole thing needs to be drained, descaled and refilled with inhibitor.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Thanks all, to my surprise our plumber is able to come out on Thursday afternoon ! He has suggested turning the Thermostat down on the boiler and wondered if this wasn't working. But as both the HW tank and pump are old I suspect one or both may be in line for replacement. We have hard water so its entireley likely the tank will be scaled up.
Will let you know his diagnosis !!
P
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He has suggested turning the Thermostat down on the boiler and wondered if this wasn't working.
Certainly a good idea prior to his arrival.
>>.. as both the HW tank and pump are old I suspect one or both may be in line for replacement.
Your pump is working OK. By tank I assume you mean hot water cylinder which IMO is OK but possibly has some fur in it.
The header tank in the loft is OK but in any case they are very cheap.
I totally agree with TVM it is pump over etc.
You may have some drain cocks for the system. They would be located at the very bottom of the system / ground level and normally outside. Probably be small brass jobs with a stub for a garden hose to connect to.
If you can locate them it would help your plumber and indicate that you not totally ignorant of the situation.
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You say that you are getting more air than usual in the rads.
It is possible that you have an air leak on the the inlet side of the pump or somewhere else in the system, (it is possible for air to get in - without visible signs of a water leak). Once there is air in the system this can then expand when hot, (proportionately more than water) and force hot water back up into the header tank, amount forced back will depend on amount of air.
Did you check the expansion pipe for pumping over? and also check to see if the overflow is carrying water out?
There are prescriptive rules for position of pump, expansion pipe, water feed etc to minimise risks of this happening, but many older systems do not comply. Pending a plumbers report, turning thermostat on boiler down is a good start and possibly reducing the pump speed.
Try posting on
www.screwfix.com/talk/index.jspa?forumTab=forums&t...6
for a professional opinion.
--
pmh (was peter)
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Henry, you are correct this is in the kitchen (it means running the hose through the living room, hall and out of the front door so that it can drain off at a lower level !).
Will report back after he's been.
P
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We're planning to be in the USA in the spring, and looking at booking car hire (from Newark). I must be blind, but I can't see anything on the Hertz web site about how much it will cost us for an additional driver. Anyone know?
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Is there a particular reason you want Hertz? There are much cheaper firms(booked) thro' UK.
Do a search on USA rental and I think Helicopter posted about the firm I use all the time. With Dollar you get one additional driver for free.
Prices range from about £110 a week for a compact to £200 or so for a Cadillac.
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Thanks Cardew
I've done the forum search, and realised that I can do considerably better than Hertz. I've had a very good quote from Airline Network. Will try Sunchase.
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I can certainly recommend Sunchase. Everything was included and explained in detail. You do not need to pay any extras when you get to the USA.
The company he used for us was Alamo and he also uses Dollar .
The whole process at Atlanta was straightforward.
We paid an extra fiver or so to Sunchase for the Gold cover which gave us two additional drivers and a full tank of gas.
Go on tyro - rent a Caddy - you know it makes sense.Sheer Luxury motoring and the 4.6 litre de Ville we had was surprisingly good to drive as well.
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I can certainly recommend Sunchase. Everything was included and explained in detail. You do not need to pay any extras when you get to the USA. The company he used for us was Alamo and he also uses Dollar . The whole process at Atlanta was straightforward. We paid an extra fiver or so to Sunchase for the Gold cover which gave us two additional drivers and a full tank of gas. Go on tyro - rent a Caddy - you know it makes sense.Sheer Luxury motoring and the 4.6 litre de Ville we had was surprisingly good to drive as well.
IIRC the extra fiver was for paying by credit card rather than cheque/debit card. Gold cover costs £14 a week extra and makes sense if you are only going for a week or need more than 2 drivers.
I echo Helicopter's sentiments about getting a Caddy, or even the new Chrysler 300 which is a bit cheaper.
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I have just received a new Panasonic Freeview box with an integrated hard disk (model number TUCH100). I set it up last night and noticed immediately the noise it makes. The hard disc appears to be permanently in use even when it is not recording - that is, it makes a load of clicks and whirs and is really off-putting.
Anyone know if this is normal or should I be off back to the shop?
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You can find the probable reason from this link:
tinyurl.com/8mszh
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Cheers Stuart - most informative. I have just had a chat with Panasonic who admit the problem I have is common and will be fixed via a software download in February. This will be their 2nd such download since the unit was launched earlier this year. Beats me how they still keep selling these things with a known fault (and a few others the bloke told me about). I will be returning mine tomorrow. It has another querk - the picture keeps switching off and I have to unplug the thing from the mains to switch off and start again. So, a refund is in order I hope. Pity since it is a nice piece of kit with some useful features (twin freeview tuners for example). Question now is what to replace it with.
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What is the true meaning of boxing day and how did the name come about?
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I stand to be corrected though I seem to recall reading that it was the day that landed gentry gave presents to their servants, i.e. boxes, the servants worked on Christmas day and were rewarded for it with boxes on Boxing Day.
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Here is what The World Book Encyclopedia says about Boxing Day:
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. It falls on December 26, which is also St. Stephen's Day. The public observance of Boxing Day takes place on the following Monday if December 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. The traditional celebration of Boxing Day included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs. The holiday may date from the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown.
It may have begun with the lords and ladies of England, who presented Christmas gifts in boxes to their servants on December 26. Or it may have begun with priests, who opened the church's alms boxes on the day after Christmas and distributed the contents to the poor.
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As today is by birthday I am keenly aware that today is the winter solstice (the shortest day). The hippy dippy types seem very keen to celebrate the summer solstice (naked usually!). Do they celebrate the winter one too?
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Do a google of Winter Solstice Celebrations. Quite widespread it seems. Of course we celebrate the fact that the days are getting longer again 2/3 days after, except it's called Christmas.
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As I understand it Christmas is effectively a celebration of the Winter solstace. In millennia gone by, December 25th was about the time when they noticed the days getting longer, and therefore the sun had won its battle over the darkness. In latter years Christians have used the date for their own festival. Jesus, of course, was actually born in Spring. The Shepherds brought him a lamb. Somewhere in between, the Roman God Mithras was "born" on December 25th in a stable to a virgin.
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...aaaand I should have read Mare's post before jumping straight in.
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BTW, 1400 people turned up at Stonehenge yesterday morning. So yes they do celebrate the winter solstice too.
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I'm considering buying a Sagem PVR6280 digibox. I would hate to have problems similar to those reported for the Panasonic TUCH100, so have any Backroomer had any experience of the Sagem unit?
--
L\'escargot.
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My sister has - likes it so much that we are all chipping in and getting my dad one for his christmas.
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Some views here:
tinyurl.com/8ocxh
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May be of interest that, according to this link:
tinyurl.com/a6mpu
Aldi is bringing out a twin tuner 80GB Freeview model for just £99..:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Aldi had this for sale up here in Scotland last week. If my memory serves me right, it doesn't have the pay per view upgrade card thingy on it.
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forum.digitalspy.co.uk .
Very useful site, if it is the tiny one above I apologise.
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< >
No TopUpTV slot is not a great loss - just check out the times each channel is on and how the timings all slot into each other.
Any way, you can key a code into your set top box to receive such channels (it's an offer that has been made on a £1 to try it out for a day basis).
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I have a Vaillant combi boiler, maybe 5/6 years old.
Normally it is good as gold (apart from occasionally turning itself off when it fails to light, thus requiring the reset button to be pressed).
But the hot water coming out today is distinctly tepid. The water thermostat is set on 'high'; the central heating is switched off when I try to draw off water (combi boilers often struggle to provide both hot water & CH at once).
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance
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Check your pressure. If the system is running at too low a pressure, you will struggle to get hot water round. There should be a water inlet tap somewhere underneath (possibly with a plastic key to open it). Try re-pressurisng the system. Other than that? Possibly dodgy thermostat? Dodgy pump?
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let me be the last to let you down....
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Loads of pressure, I'm glad to say.
This evening the water is coming out cold. But perversely, when I turn on the hot tap, the radiators heat up.
Oooh dear!
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This evening the water is coming out cold. But perversely, when I turn on the hot tap, the radiators heat up.
Sounds like a sticking valve in there somewhere!
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Mike Farrow
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