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I am considering buying a mulching mower for my gardening round so I don't have to carry bags of grass around and have bikers lecture me at traffic lights about the hazards of riding through a handful of deadly mowings that escaped from the trailer. Anyone got one? (a mulching mower, not a biker) Used one? Tried one and rejected it? Comments and opinions welcome.
TIA
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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I don't know about mulching mowers (how do they work) but the amount of grass collection I have to do is not much at all on my patch (very rarely any).
I do this by mowing before the grass gets long and then I walk up and down over the visible grass with the mower raised up at the front at an angle approaching 45 degrees. The fan effect in dry weather disperses the cuttings so the lawn looks acceptably neat (to me at least). Quite surprisingly so, if you have not tried it.
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I've got a petrol mulcher mower. It works OK, as long as the grass isn't too long to start with - if it is, it tends to leave clumps of grass all over the place, though a quick second mow can reduce these. Sometime after I bought it, I had the blades sharpened, and whilst getting it done, the chap explained that I had a "single mulcher", and that one can get mowers with "double mulcher" blades that work better with longer grass.
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\"Archie\"
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Not personally used one, but a friend has and was not impressed.
He reckons that it built up a 'thatch' on the lawn even if lawn cut when short.
Cut too often and the fine mulch simply lay on the previous fine mulch. Cut when long and you needed a baler to pick up the grass!
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Mulching mowers are great for your local borough council as they save money by leaving the cuttings on the ground but not in my experience any good for your garden lawn.
In theory the fine mulch cuttings are fed back to the lawn, but try stepping on a wet lawn that has been cut by a mulching mower and your footwear will be covered in grass cuttings, not so if they had been collected.
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If it's of any use, I use a petrol rotary with the grass storage bin simply left off. The 'mulch'
produced whizzes out the back, slightly off-centre in a spray. The grass sometimes clumps a bit,
depending on initial length, but soon dries off & wind scatters nicely. To my, maybe slighlty off-beat Gertrude Jekyll cum
Fearnley-Whittingstall, aesthetic it looks better & is certainly better for the 'lawn' (it more resembles a meadow
if I let it grow a bit, with lovely wild flowers) being self-fertilised by the mulch - worms see to that.
It's also better for wildlife - the mulch provides food & cover for insects, which in turn provide food & nesting material for
birds (blackbirds & thrushes love rooting around) & hedgehogs.
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They add to thatch, which can only be removed by mechanicall scarifier (which you can hire) or very, very hard work with a special rake. What you need is a recycling mower. They exist but I don't know who makes one.
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Recycling mower = mulching mower
esce.ucr.edu/wasteman/2000/Harivandi.htm
Thatch is worse but not enough to concern a "turf manager".
Thanks for your comments.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Hello,
I have determined that a watch that Mrs Cheddar fancies is a lot cheaper in the US largely due to the nearly $2/£1 exchange rate, a US based online seller ships to the UK inc insurance for a pricey $65 which still means we would save nearly £200 over UK High St prices.
However I assume we could get stung for duty by HMRC?
Any thoughts?
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Yes, and they seem to have got tougher on this over the years - presumably because more people doing it.
Do you have any friends visiting the states in the near future ?
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Yes and dont forget you will get a handling charge slapped on as well and HM customs wil charge vat on value of item, vat on the shipping cost and vat on the handling charge.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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TVM is correct although I have imported items from the States bought on Ebay and sent by post , under £100 in value and they were not charged for , even with the customs declaration of value clearly shown on the package.
If you want to talk to Customs about how much it will cost you ring the helpline 01702 366077.
Be VERY careful if you are buying an expensive watch from abroad... there are a lot of fakes around.
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I have always used Philishave. My first one had just one head (yes, I know that dates me:o). The next one had two heads. Current one has three heads. I have seen adverts for six head razors @ £19.99 by mail order...not Philishave.
Question.....do any of you gentlemen have one of these? If so, how do you rate them? Are you nice to be near after using it? (Ahem).
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I've seen the ads for the 6 head razors. I suspect you won't find that they are as good as Philshaves.
Although the price of top of the range electric razors has increased dramatically in recent years, this is due to the additional features that the manufacturers believe you need. However, most of them still supply a good basic razor which should last a lot longer than the 6 head.
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If you take a look in Boots they have a number of Phillishaves at half price - I used an excellent one that dispensed cream as you shaved, but have actually gone back to a wet shave 'cos I find it relaxing (until I slice my face open...).
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Thanks for the above replies....especially for the tip re Boots....I will check it out.
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>>back to a wet shave 'cos I find it relaxing (until I slice my face open...).>>
Most likely cause is that you are using a blade that has lost its sharpness, ironically the opposite to what would be expected.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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We have an eleven-year-old Sheltie who drives me mad by the way it barks in an ear-piercing way far too often! Any knock at the door....any other dog barking on tv or radio...even when the telephone rings....and off he goes!
I have seen adverts for Dog Bark Control Collars. When Fido barks it emits a harmless but unpleasant sound in his ear which, apparently, discourages him from barking.
Have any of you any experience with these things? Do they do the trick?
Any genuine suggestions welcomed before I go barking mad!
TIA.
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The key is to distract the Sheltie whenever these events occur, usually with a tit bit for not barking.
Shelties are wonderful little dogs - we had my daughter's Sheltie for six and a half years after she moved abroad (he was nine at the time) - and very intelligent as you would expect from a breed that was developed from Border Collies to herd sheep and to act as guard dogs in an inhospitable environment.
Although I used to tell my daughter I wouldn't be seen dead with a "hairdresser's dog" when she first got him after having three black Labradors and a German Shepherd over 50 odd years, I still miss the little critter even though it's 15 months since he passed away.
His bravery was quite remarkable and there were a series of Rottweilers, Alsatians, Great Danes and Boxers over the years who were put in their place by a tiny black, white and tan bundle of fur, much to their owners' surprise.
Shoot first and ask questions afterwards seems to be an excellent recipe...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Google for "dog behaviour and training".
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L\'escargot.
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Thanks for the above replies. I can't fault the dog, Stuartli, just this one bad habit. A set of earplugs for the owner might be the answer.
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The Nokia 1600 is a very popular little phone so can any owner out there please advise if they have found a way of reducing the volume of incoming speech? My sister is concerned about people being able to hear both sides of her conversations but cannot find anything in the manual or menu's, to reduce the volume level.
Any pointers much appreciated. Thank you.
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I'm not familiar with this phone, but with many it's not uncommon only to be able to adjust the volume when you're actually in a call. This may be where your sister is going wrong.
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but cannot find anything in the manual or menu's to reduce the volume level.
Just taken a look at the online manual.
nds1.nokia.com/phones/files/guides/Nokia_1600_UG_e...f
Page 21.
"Scroll right to increase or left to decrease the volume of the earpiece or headset during the phone call"
By scroll, they're talking about the centre 4 way key.
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Many thanks to Welliesorter and Dynamic Dave. Will put up the link supplied for my sister to see.
Thanks again. Petel
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I am travelling to an address and in order to view the surroundings I would like to pinpoint the location on a high resolution map using the postcode. A member on this forum had access to such a site to illustrate the circumstances of an accident can anyone give me the url for this or any other sites that search using postcodes.
Thanks Mal.
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Google Earth, but it's a download. Or maps.live.com/
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www.multimap.com/
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Google Maps tinyurl.com/4ndra
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L\'escargot.
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Many thanks for the links, big help, which I have now bookmarked, shame that Google Earth does not show the photographic images in detail for the area I am visiting which is Fife in Scotland.
Thanks Mal.
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>..>shame that GoogleEarth does not show the photographic images in detail for the area I am visiting which is Fife in Scotland.
Check out maps.live ??
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Google Earth but it's a download. Or maps.live.com/
I have just tried maps.live. vs Google with an unexpected result.
To date I have used Google but it switches into lower definition half a mile away from my home.
Maps.live does not.
So I now have the ability to have a look around a much wider area in detail.
Have others found this difference ?
Do I have an out off date version of Google earth?
Many thanks for my enhanced mapping.
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>>Do I have an out off date version of Google earth?>>
No, only certain areas have a higher resolution and can easily be worked out from the emphasised zones.
Google Earth is basically US orientated and this is where much of the updating occurs; cities such as London, Paris etc are also updated reasonably regularly.
However, the area in which I live (on the North West coast) has images which are at least five or six years old...:-(
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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All the online mapping sites use diffrent partners for the aerial photography. None of them have all the uk photo mapped in hi res. Some have some parts in hi res, others have other parts in hi res, all of them have certain parts in hi res (like london) and all of them have the same parts that are not hi res
so you need to have access to all of them to see what you can get - its all very hit amd miss.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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so you need to have access to all of them to see what you can get - its all very hit amd miss.
Thanks RF. I've just tried all of the ones mentioned to date in this thread on my corner of Scotland. FWIW, Multimap is much better than the others.
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maps.live. vs Google
microsoft's versions are www.local.live.com (aka maps.live.com)
and virtual-earth www.microsoft.com/virtualearth/default.mspx .
a reviewer said:
" ..The advantage over Google Earth is that it all works in the browser, and does not need a standalone application like Google Earth. However you do still need to download and install a plugin so its not seamless by any means. Microsoft have also been busy adding various 3d models to worldwide major cities. The models are very simple and sometimes do not match the satellite photos correctly but do have low res photo texturing. ..
note that google and microsoft use different databases for their satellite images and continually add higher res images based on thier own criteria of importance of particular locations.
out off date version of Google earth?
i believe the software was updated to version 4.1.7076 a few days ago,
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>>i believe the software was updated to version 4.1.7076 a few days ago, >>
It was, but the images of my area (and street) are exactly the same and that applies to both Google and Microsoft (which have the same images).
The Flash Earth site's images bring up "No Entry" signs if you try and get in too close.
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It was, but the images of my area
simply because "software update" does not = "database update"
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>>simply because "software update" does not = "database update">>
Yes, I do realise that..:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Or maps.live.com/
maps.google.com/maps appears to be more up-to-date.
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L\'escargot.
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>> maps.live.com/ >> maps.google.com/maps
it depends on the area you are looking at.
as i said, the databases of the former (microsoft) and the latter (google) are updated independently by their respective companies at their own convenience or choosing or priorities.
if you need the most up to date information, then the best solution is obviously to check all these "free" suppliers to see which one meets your needs best at a given time.
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Multimap now appears to have been upgraded to use maps.live architecture and data.
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www.flashearth.com
depending on location you get aerial photos google/yahoo/msoft versions in one site
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Try google earth for the North Koreon capital pyong whatsit. the highest high res prictures you will ever see. I wonder why?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Try google earth for the North Koreon capital pyong whatsit. the highest high res prictures you will ever see. I wonder why?
Interesting that. I remember discovering that Google Earth were far more detailed for Middle Eastern countries than for Edinburgh.
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>>than for Edinburgh.
Look just North of Edinburgh, and you'll probably find a certain area of the north bank of the Forth is in excellent detail! There's a similar hi-res area just West of Glagow - can't think why!
Number_Cruncher
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Try google earth for the North Koreon capital pyong whatsit. the highest high res prictures you will ever see.
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Not that good IMO.
I note that the Heathrow area has been updated.
The Concordes on T4 have gone. The five shots of the same aircraft landing have gone but T5 looks impressive.
At Hatton Cross roundabout you can even see all the mini roundabouts, lane markings etc.
( motoring link?)
Or the temporary stage and seating in the middle of Hampton Court Palace.
(The wind was in the East judging by the fountain at the back.)
Oh and there are about 50 swans on the Thames just south of Kingston bridge.
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any sign of the 50p I dropped?
JH
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any sign of the 50p I dropped?
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Was it heads or tails ;-)
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And for those going to France this is a superb site for aerial photos and by moving the "Transparence" slider in top left you can get high detail IGN (like our OS) maps to a scale of about 1:5,000 (individual buildings etc.)
www.geoportail.fr/index.php?event=DisplayCartoVisu...e
Have a mess about with area around Eiffel Tower
www.geoportail.fr/index.php?event=DisplayCartoVisu...2
or Carcassonne
www.geoportail.fr/index.php?event=DisplayCartoVisu...2
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Phil
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Phil what can I say ? Brilliant site for anyone with a Western Font interest especially after the apologies for Sat photos of that particular area that rival American based sites have - totally brilliant. you can trace the lines - brill, brill, brill.
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Thanks PU.
In fact, I use it frequently for looking for places, trenches etc on Western Front.
If you are interested have a look at this , a very amateurish effort to put my Grandad's WW1 diary on the web about 6 or 7 years ago - might get round to updating it one day when have more time.
www.soar100.freeserve.co.uk/
Also reference to Grandad (John Alan Watson) here
www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/somme/ancre.html
and in Lynn MacDonald's book "1915"
Some fantastic sites on the web about WW1 now
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Phil
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Phil,
Are those photos credited to you ?
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Yes, Grandad John Alan Watson served in RGA 1914 to 1918. My Dad found his handwritten diaries in 1980 in his Mum's flat (she was in mid '80s by then, didn't realise they existed, JAW died in 1962). After Dad was widowed, some friends of his took him to France to look at a few sites mentioned in diaries. Later that year I took him and we went every year for 3 or 4 days for about 10 years to follow up diaries and take photos. JAW also returned to battlefields in 1929 and took photos - we used those as a basis to research where he was in 1918 during the March retreat and subsequent advance to victory. Dad and I both believe that when JAW's 6inch howitzers were overrun by the Germans on the night of 23-24 April 1918 near Villers-Bretonneux it marked the furthest point the Germans advanced in the war. The Aussies retook the position next day and the advance to victory began! JAW had to abandon the guns overnight because the Germans advanced over open ground, JAW couldn't lower the howitzers to fire at them and had to retreat into the forest.
I have quite a lot of other photos, taken during war and in 1929, some are at
s33.photobucket.com/albums/d73/PhilRW/?
in no particular order but so that I can refer people to them, when relevant, on
1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/
especially this thread at the moment
1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showto...9
Good job this is a non-motoring bit of the forum (though I could refer to the tractors which pulled JAW's 9.2 inch Howitzers at 2 mph!)
Do you have a particular area of interest? Do we "overlap". Would be interested to hear.
Sorry to those who have been bored rigid by this rather lengthy post!!
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Phil
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No only a general "passion" my maternal Grandfather was in the RGA, he served in Malta throughout his service in WW1. I tease SWMBO by saying he pulled strings...(if you get my drift). Paternal side were grunts (one did actually get run over by a tank which is where that term originates apparently) but survived, family PU took to the air shortly after and generally remained there for the next few wars.
"23-24 April 1918 near Villers-Bretonneux it marked the furthest point the Germans advanced in the war."
Part of the Spring Offensive, Germany's last gasp, and they very nearly won it, but thanks to the RN who arguably won that war, they didn't have the in-country infrastructure and materiale to carry on. WW1 is a fascinating subject especially as I now research (or read up on) the current view that the first battle of the Somme was actually the turning point for the Allies and led to the ultimate (and remarkable) victory. My other area of interest is the original BEF in August 1914 and how this tiny Army fought the German War Machine to a convincing halt. There is a school of thought that the Battle of the Marne was one of the key battles of 20th Century, if the Allies had lost that, they'd have lost the war. We'd all be speaking German by now and driving German cars (!). I love the de-bunking of myths, especially about WW1 Generals, more Allied Divisional Officers were killed during the Battle of Loos than were subsequently killed in WW2 - globally.
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"maternal Grandfather was in the RGA, he served in Malta throughout his service in WW1"
Grandfathers being in RGA is probably why we are here today to talk about it! Being with a howitzer with 9 or 10,000 yard range is much better than being in a trench within yards of a machine gun! And of course, managing to get staioned in Malta for the duration is an even better idea - no matter what strings you pull! Though getting run over by a tank is rather careless!
"Battle of Loos " JAW was a few thousand yards back from that carnage as well - thank goodness.
"Spring Offensive" - known as The March Retreat in this household! And not quite fast enough on a couple of occasions -a couple of very close shaves "put the wind up this chicken" as he said.
Interesting times and the source of endless debate - even 90 years later.
regards
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Phil
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I bought an item two weeks ago and paid for it by debit card, saved me 2% credit card charge so seemed a good idea. Went through a pile of security checks and the transaction was authorised by the retailers merchant services provider. I still have all the paperwork showing that I have paid.
Until Friday my online account showed the 'amount available' was the difference between the cash balance and the amount paid on the card, the amount was significant enough to notice!
Friday evening logged on to see if my expenses had been paid to find that the pending transaction had disappeared and my balance reverted to a much larger sum than expected, and no I hadn't received my expenses.
Any ideas as to what has happened, or might happen?
When is it safe to spend the money now burning a hole in my account and SWMBO's mind?
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It sounds as if the payee, for whatever reason, hasn't formally requested the money to be paid into their account and the sum has returned to your balance by default.
Below is a written explanation I got very recently from my bank of the stages a debit card transaction goes through.
"Please be advised that debit card withdrawals/payments will debit your Current Balance immediately. This is the first stage in processing your transaction. The next stage is for the transaction to be presented to your account holding branch. The company that you made the payment to, or the owners of the cash machine the funds were withdrawn from, will formally present their record of the transaction and request the payment. At this point the transaction is downloaded and then shown on your statement. The time it takes to download the transaction may vary. For example it will take longer to process overseas transactions. It will also take longer to process if the payment was entered manually."
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L\'escargot.
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"Please be advised that debit card withdrawals/payments will debit your Current Balance immediately. This is the first stage in processing your transaction.
I should have explained that at this stage the money has only been "earmarked" (my banks expression, not mine) for the payee and that although it has been deducted from your online current balance it hasn't left your account. If the money is never paid to the payee there will be no trace whatsoever of the transaction on your paper statement.
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L\'escargot.
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Also ........
The first stage doesn't remain in exisence forever. If payee doesn't formally request payment within a certain time (seemingly 5-10 working days) the sum automatically returns to your balance. This is what appears to have happened in your case.
I think I've got everthing this time!
Incidentally, I got a better explanation from my bank from one email than I did from three phone calls!
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L\'escargot.
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Read this once, agreed with everything L'Escargot said, left it and went off to do my weekly sort out with MS Money. Find I have a number of unclaimed transactions going back to early days of May, and in one case late April. Visa debit card with Abbey.
Possibly there is a bigger glitch in the Visa system somewhere?
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Thanks for the replies.
Looks like I'll have to keep the money in the current account for a little longer then!
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We've got a fence constructed of panels between slotted concrete posts. Because the thickness of the panel is (by necessity) less than the width of the slot in the posts the panels rattle when it's windy. I've tried forcing 25 mm lengths of 13 mm o.d. unreinforced rubber hose between the horizontal members of the panels and the side of the slot, and this is successful until the hose (very quickly) perishes and falls out ~ it's 8 mm i.d. low pressure gas hose from a caravan dealer.
Any suggestions as to what other (more durable) hose I can use? It needs to be unreinforced so that it can be squeezed diametrically to make it fit into the gap. The gaps are very variable and some larger gaps need a second piece of hose, cut lengthwise, placed around the first piece.
Alternatively, what other methods are there? The fencing contractor said it was a known problem with that type of fence/post but he couldn't offer a solution.
If I had the patience (which I haven't anyway) I could make individual pieces of wood to fit each gap but this would take an eternity ~ the fence is approx 40 m long, and each panel would need a minimum of 4 pieces.
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L\'escargot.
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Cut up some bits of normal poly prop garden hose? Or some other bit of polyprop type plastic lying about the house? I have some small plastic wedges left over from laying some laminate flooring - don't know if you can buy them loose - maybe try asking at one of those Floor2Go stores that are everywhere these days
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What about some exterior grade gun-applied mastic of some sort. I used some a fortnight ago, some 'decking adhesive' made by Sika; got it cheap from B&Q ages ago. It was really thick stuff, actually difficult to squeeze out of the tube, so should not slump out of the gap, and you might be able to get it in grey to match the fence posts? It dries to a hard rubbery finish and remains slightly flexible. Four 2" runs of that per panel might do the trick?
May be best to apply it when it was not windy.
;o)
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You need two pieces of wood formed into a wedge for each panel. The wedge gets hammered in the *midle (ie half way up) * of each post / panel gap. Just one for each post. As the panel is flexible, it forces the top and bottom and middle into contact with the post.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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What about expanding foam squirted into the gap? Trim it off afterwards and it might solve the problem.
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I used the TVM method, but drove the wedge in sideway by the side of the top cross member and then used a battery drill to put a pilot hole through it and then knocked a nail in it to stop it coming loose. It was wide enough not to be able to swing down on the single nail. I rely on the weight of the panel resisting on the lower concrete 'board' for it not to rattle at the bottom.
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I have something like 22 panels. Multiply that by two and that's a lot of wedges and holes to be drilled. I'll think about it!
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L\'escargot.
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Cut up some bits of normal poly prop garden hose?
I'd thought of that, but it doesn't appear to have much springiness. I'm going to investigate clear polythene tube. The rubber tube idea works, but the particularly stuff I bought soon perishes ~ in a matter of a few months in fact. It would be nice if I could get some rubber tube that doesn't perish so quickly.
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L\'escargot.
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What about the tubing for fish tanks and ponds? We used it to refurbish a pianola so it is bendy and should not rot as it is designed to live in water!
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What about the tubing for fish tanks and ponds?
Thanks deepwith, I'll give it a try.
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L\'escargot.
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A wedge of timber pushed in on one side at the top on each end of the panel will stop most of the rattle. You could wait for a still day, and squeeze in a blob of high modulus silicone sealer (the colour of the fence panel or post) and just let that do the job. N.B. don't go mad with it, you won't need a lot, it's surprisingly resilient, and sticks like anything. This stuff is sold as "silicone bath caulk", and smells of vinegar when it goes off. Don't use imitation! If you don't care too much, buy a big tin of car body filler from a motor factor, mix in the hardener, blodge some in, job done - you can put in a few drops of bit of spirit-based wood stain before mixing in the hardener.
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Just looked at the stuff I used its called SikaBond T1, polyurethane based, and a lot stiffer than silicone but still flexible. They do make it in grey. I used it to repair a cracked engine undertray on my car, but the tube says suitable for joinery use. This is proper construction industry stuff not DIY grade.
www.qbmdistributors.co.uk/sikabond.htm
You may not be able to find this brand but they should stock something similar at a builders merchants.
As Fotherington says a blob in each corner would do it, a 2" run that I mentioned would be unnecessary.
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My son's school is visiting the London Science Museum soon, and we have the option of paying £3 for a Science Museum gift bag as the kids are not allowed to take their own money. Anyone know what's in it?
John
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Rubbish, no doubt. An india rubber, a pencil, two postcards and a pencil sharpener. I'm just guessing...
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Each fun bag contain 5 exciting science toys. Great for field trips!
is what you get for 3 dolla in USA
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8< SNIP
Comments regarding moderation of this site should be addressed directly by email to the moderators, as indicated in the following thread.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=33416
DD.
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Good Morning all.
SWMBO looks like winning the day and a Gas BBQ will be coming to North Devon. From what I have seen they are a pile of shoddy expensive rubbish in the main and I ain't spending £200.00. on something like that. Does anyone here have superior knowledge please. Incidentally we have a 'normal' BBQ manufactured by Brinkman of the USA and it is a fine piece of kit, has stayed out uncovered in all weathers for seven years and still does the job, but it is built properly, yes the yanks can get some things right, but I gather that Brinkman only do gas in the states. Any advice 'warmly' welcomed. Thanks
VBR.......MD
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I bought a charbroil 250 (An American maker) in 1999. Cast aluminum body and lid. Built like a 50's cadilac and only cost me 70 quid.
The cooking grids are wearing thin and I see they can be got as spares in the states.
You cant get BBQs like this any more at these prices, its all cheap tin carp. If you want good quality you need to spend shedloads on a westbend or similar.
So my advice - buy cheap and chuck it away every 5 years. Buy a butane regulator (blue) and run it on that. The green "patio gas" (propane) is very expensive in comparison.
you have to pay for your first canister, then you pay for refil thereafter.
Oh - and i was always like you. I always belived it was smoke and charcoal that gave the food flavour "why do i want to drag the cooker into the garden".
Tho with a gas Barbie you suddenly get the reason. Come home from work, turn it on, and 15 minutes later you have steak sizzling on the grid.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Tho with a gas Barbie you suddenly get the reason. Come home from work turn it on and 15 minutes later you have steak sizzling on the grid.
Cheers TVM. (I always knew she'd win)
VBR............MD
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OMC, a canadian outfit, also do a solidly-built offering at reasonable price. I have 2, a big one for home and a fold-up-into-a-big-bag version for the caravan.
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Terry
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Yes but gas is nowhere near the temperature of white/grey charcoal and the food does not cook as well on gas IMO. Plus flavour is a problem on gas unless you use wood chips to make savoury smoke. I had some oak chips which were made from Jack Daniel's Whisky Barrels = great!
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. I had some oak chips which weremade from Jack Daniel's Whisky Barrels = great! did jack mind?
were they chewy?
i get my chips from netto ;-o
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Why do people use such knobbly push-bike tyres these days? They're very noisy and the resistance to motion must be much higher than with smooth tyres. It's not as if you need high traction on metalled or hard unmetalled roads.
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L\'escargot.
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Why do people use such knobbly push-bike tyres these days? They're very noisy and the resistance to motion must be much higher than with smooth tyres. It's not as if you need high traction on metalled or hard unmetalled roads.
Because the push bikes you see them on are 'mountain bikes', even if the cheap ones would stand no chance of ever getting up a small hill. It's all about image.
Having used such bikes to commute to work on a budget (£70 in one case for a 20 mile a day commute for over a year), you take it very easy on wet roads round corners- you don't get high traction on hard surfaces by using knobbles.
John
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As John says, purely about fashion. A hybrid or city bike with MB frame geometry (but no suspension), road tyres, mudguards and a luggage rack makes a much better utiilty bike than a Halfords/JJB <£100 special with full sus and Shimano this that and the other. But you won't find one for much under £200.
My 20 yr old Dawes Galaxy running on 27inch centre ridge Vredstiens is far far easier and relaxing for road runs than the altrnative mid range non sus MTB.
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OK, Fins the goldfish is a bit lonely and we're thinking of spending a few quid getting a biggish tank and a few other types of fish.
I'm thinking of a tank maybe 30 inches wide by 18 inches high, something like that (writing this sounds like I'm entering that TV sketch about the newby in the hi-fi shop)
How much am I looking at £££wise to kit ourselves out and what risks do we face with Fins who may be rather shocked to find that other fish exist and may go a bit loopy and go on a killing spree or something?
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For an item such as this my first visit would be to e-bay.
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I'd go and have a chat with the staff in a local shop, I know about pond fish but not about tanks
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I read often, only post occasionally
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I'm currently preparing for erection of a garden shed to which I want to run a 240 volt power supply. Usage of the latter will be for PIR triggered internal lighting (single 100w filament bulb is probably most appropriate for what will be short duration occasional use) and a double socket for garden power tool usage (highest individual rating 1.5kw, max combined theoretical load 2.5kw)
Three questions, please, before I go to the trouble of digging a trench and running suitably gauged Steel Wire Armoured cable (yes, I am aware of how to do this, thanks):
1) Does adding power supply to a shed invoke any odd rules (existing or forthcoming, including taxation), to be aware of? Advice so far is "no".
2) If I run the SWA cable inside the house through sealed hole in the wall and use three pin plug to connect to existing ring main socket, do I circumvent the official need for installation by certified electrician? Advice so far is conflicting; "yes" because by using a plug I'm not addiing to fixed wiring and "no" because the cable terminates in a fixed installation (shed) and follows a fixed route (trench).
3) Is the advice NOT to use a RCD equipped plug because each circuit on the ring main is already individually RCD protected, correct. Common sense says "yes".
Ta muchly.
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Not an electrician but a physicist (nearly) so not sure of the law.
1) Dunno
2) Unless you're installing it in the kitchen you don't need to get it certified. Failing that see if you know a contractor who'll flog you some red and black multicore so no one will know.
3) No safety issue as far as I can see but it might be inconvenient for your ring main to trip if something happens in the shed. Would advise putting the shed on its own breaker on your consumer unit if possible.
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1/ Nope
2/ Problem number one is you aint gonna get SWA into a three pin plug and terminated properly. You need to break your ring main, use a proper aproved connection block (the round ones) to spur to your shed or run it back from the distribution box. I would want to be able to isolate it with a switch/rcd/CB
All this means of course you might need your work checked
3/ Seem to recall your house is modern. Therefore it might have an single master RCD (or individual RCDs for each circuit) You need to check.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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1) What I though, ta
2) "Problem number one is you aint gonna get SWA into a three pin plug and terminated properly": I didn't appreciate this, but it's obvious thinking about it now, ta
3) "You need to check"; Sorry if my post wasn't clear; I have checked and each circuit does have its own RCD, hence why I wrote what I did. I wouldn't be surprised if an additional RCD on an already RCD protected circuit might actually reduce safety.
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3) "You need to check"; Sorry if my post wasn't clear; I have checked and each circuit does have its own RCD hence why I wrote what I did. I wouldn't be surprised if an additional RCD on an already RCD protected >> circuit might actually reduce safety.
generally not a good idea....you cannot tell which RCD will trip in the case of a fault as the circuit will lack discrimination. For instance with a fault on the garden/shed rcd the main house circuit rcd may trip shutting of the freezer etc.
It may even break wiring regs to have two rcds on the same circuit.
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generally not a good idea....etc
Essentially what I was getting at; each circuit in the house has its own RCD, including therefore the two downstairs "socket" loops, so it seemed logically incorrect to add RCD equipped plugs for things used in the garden; the circuits are already individually RCD protected, so thanks for confirming train of thought.
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each circuit does have its own RCD
Are you really really sure of that, or do you mean MCB? It's usual for there to be a whole-house RCD (but not in newish installations), or to have a split-load consumer unit. If you take a circuit to your shed, this really ought to have a separate RCD incorporated.
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1) Does adding power supply to a shed invoke any odd rules
Yes. You are not allowed to do it, unless you get a certificate that it's ok, and you'll be charged a nice fat fee for *that*!
2) If I run the SWA cable inside the house through sealed hole in the wall and use three pin plug to connect to existing ring main socket do I circumvent the official need for installation by certified electrician?
This is not a good way to do it. You need the appropriate terminators for the cable.
because by using a plug I'm not addiing to fixed wiring
You are a naughty boy.
3) Is the advice NOT to use a RCD equipped plug because each circuit on the ring main is already individually RCD protected correct.
There are all sorts of issues. I should post to Usenet Newsgroup 'uk.d-i-y", or search that group using your favourite search engine.
Oh! Did you say "the shed was already wired up and you might need to replace a few existing components due to damage"? That's alright, then!
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>> 1) Does adding power supply to a shed invoke any odd rules Yes. You are not allowed to do it unless you get a certificate that it's ok and you'll be charged a nice fat fee for *that*!
But ......... what the eye doesn't see etc. If you're happy it's safe, why go looking for problems?
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L\'escargot.
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If you're happy it's safe why go looking for problems?
Unfortunately in these days of State Intrusion if you contravene "building regulations" then you may be persued and possibly fined. Awkward questions may be asked should you sell your house, too. Fortunately there are lots of ways around things, one previously referred to. I don't agree with very many of these regulations, you know. They're cheek.
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Oh! Did you say "the shed was already wired up and you might need to replace a few existing components due to damage"? That's alright, then!
The thought had crossed my mind, thanks, not that I've already installed three electrical items and one ring main socket where none was previously. Yes, I am a naughty boy.
When I posted earlier, I clean forgot something: We have a large pond installed by previous occupier for which the electrics are controlled via weatherproof (IP whatever) box with rubber-booted toggle switches. Current infrastructure only uses two out of four switches, and a quick check during lunch by removing the trunking that comes out of the ground confirms that only two "normal domestic O/D" cables exist; there is stacks of room to install and properly terminate SWA cable. (I leave aside for now the fact that this means I have a pump and UV lamp running at mains voltage via unarmoured cables)
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They must have wired up the shed at the same time then....................................
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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They must have wired up the shed at the same time then....................................
That what I was thinking, just like our detached double garage, they were good enough to install wiring for various external lighting, must have predicted the new regs ;-)
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And no doubt they used the old colour coded wires which would certainly indicate that it was not a new circuit...Been there just done that!!
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And no doubt they used the old colour coded wires which would certainly indicate that it was not a new circuit...Been there just done that!!
Yep, garage is only five years old, they used the same colour coding throughout. Regs relating to exterior lighting changed in early 2005 IIRC.
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Which reminds me - are you certain that each circuit is on an RCD? They're still pretty expensive and it seems more likely to me that you'd have MCBs for each ring main then, if fitted, an RCD that covers the whole lot. Reminds me of my days in uni accommodation where the idiot next door had a tendency to play loud music all night when I had exams the next day. I modified a plug to connect live directly to earth - when I plugged it in it took out the circuit breaker which covered our rooms. I had a battery powered alarm clock, y'see.
Went with a bit of a bang and puff of smoke usually. The maintenance people at uni must have been pretty flummoxed by the end of it!!
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