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Edited by Webmaster on 26/07/2008 at 19:47
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Back in April my house suffered a fire due to neighbours DIY job going horribly wrong. My Loss Adjuster has now confirmed to me that they have agreed with his ins co that all costs will be coming from them. I assume this means they have in effect admitted liability.
As I have been out of my house since the fire, and probably will be for up to 12 months in total, I will be looking for compensation for this for the upheaval, uninsured losses,disruption, stress etc etc.
I have instigated proceedings through the Legal Ins on my own policy, however I was wondering if anyone on here (esp the legal eagles) could point me to any case study, examples of previous settlements etc to give me an indication of what this is going to involve?
Many thanks,
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Could there be any possible disadvantages to having an eye test at one optician and then buying glasses from another?
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Yes. If first optician gets the prescription wrong, the second will not change the glasses for free following a retest as it's not his mistake.
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We have not had a problem - husband buys most of his glasses online from specmaniacs which costs him about £40.
Son had his prescriptions from the eye hospital and have them dispensed by local optician.
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My wife got her prescription form the optician, and then bought glasses from an online firm. 100% success, and a saving of about £130.00
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prescription form the optician >>
Prescription 'form' the optician?
M'thinks you need glasses. :)
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"M'thinks you need glasses. :)" - a spell checker would do...
My eyesight has barely changed in my 49 years, whereas SWMBO can now not read without glasses.
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a spell checker would do...
Except that a spell checker will not find anything wrong with "form" when you meant to write "from".
Note - IE7pro has a spell checker built in but is in US English although you can add "proper" English words to the database.
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>>....and then bought glasses from an online firm. 100% success and a saving of about £130.00
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Other than simple specs i.e. not vari focals or multi lens, I would not buy online.
I value my eyesight more than maybe saving few ££s.
There is also the situation re correct fitting etc. Getting the nose pads that are acceptable has been a problem for SWMBO.
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Expensive glisses are fur wamps. See, I cin typ prefectly withot thim. Min wear only £9.99 frum the supermurket.
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"Other than simple specs i.e. not vari focals or multi lens, I would not buy online"
They are very simple reading glasses - one lens is almost plain glass.
No reason why an online retailer can not follow a prescription, though. The lens manufacture is done by computer, and a high street optician's products will be produced using the same kit and procedures.
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Could there be any possible disadvantages to having an eye test at one optician and then buying glasses from another?
Two examples of real life cases:
Case 1.
Customer had eye test at upmarket High Street chain of opticians A.
Glasses then made by a budget chain of opticians B. Found after waering for a few days that that vision was not satisfactory. B checked the glasses and said they were made as prescription. Went back to A, but dismissed by "reception" who said their prescriptions were never wrong. Person wrote to MD of A. Invited to be retested by their regional chief Optician. Found original prescription to be incorrect. Customer then offered profuse apologies, plus free choice of any frames from their most expensive range, plus the best optics and all the extras [tinting, anti-glare, anti-scratch coatings] that they wished. In addition, free retests offered for life.
Case 2.
Customer had eye test at small district group of opticians C. Glasses then made by another fast fit national franchise D. Problems with vision reported to D the very next day. D said glasses made to prescription. Went back to C, where the glasses were tested against the prescription. C said the centres of the lenses were not aligned as specified by him [ the critical measurement being the distance between the pupils ]. This was out by 2mm. C was reluctant to put this down in writing but said he would phone D and tell them of the problem. Following this, D invited customer back to have free eye test by their own optician [turns out original prescription was spot on] and to have glasses remade free. At the refitting, the Area Manager personally attended to ensure a "Swiss Watch quality" of engineered fit. Customer was asked if a goodwill payment of £100 and a free set of sunglasses was enough for the inconvenience caused. Payment accepted.
So it can be advantageous to have one firm of Opticians do the test and another to supply the glasses.
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For reading glasses, now my arms are not long enough, I have a selection from Poundland. When I have my regular check up they also check the lenses are correct - which they always have been.
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I have a Leylandii hedge that is 8 foot tall and at its widest - 3 feet.
When is the best time to 'lop' 2 feet off te height and cut back the width to 2 feet?
When thining the girth, will this kill the growth on the sides or will it come back like a privet would?
I have mates telling me now to do teh work, others wait until September, others saying that if I do the sides it will not grow back & I will kill the hedge.
Just a little bit lost here and out of my depth!
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If Leylandii were so delicate, there wouldn't be so many around!
In my experience, they're almost impossible to kill, and will grow back from any amount of mistreatment (although there's some disease doing the rounds that's not too healthy for them).
I've got a few purely to try and keep a particularly soggy bit of ground manageable. I've lopped them and cut the sides back fairly regularly. They can look a bit untidy if you cut them too drastically, but new growth soon covers up anything ugly.
My only caveat is not to disturb any nesting birds they may contain, although any fledglings should have flown by now.
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No Probs! (but care required on older trees) do as above post suggests, get in there and lop away gently!
www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0402/pruning_leyland...p
Billy
Edited by billy25 on 16/07/2008 at 16:34
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Thank you for the link and replies! Spoke with the RSPB and knock me over with a feather!
Blackbirds can be nesting as late as August - yes August & guess what - looking this afternoon I have no less than 4 'large' and several smalller nests (not sure how many are vacant though) in 60 foot of tree! Now I know why I always have so many Blackbirds etc., in my garden ;)
So I will do this in September :) Cooler too!
For those of you that may have a similar task I found the Ryobi Expand-it range to be just perfect for the job.
Got all mine including the engine from: www.garden4less.co.uk (search on Ryobi & Expand-it) damned site cheaper than B&Q etc., as well.
The little earth tiller attachment is a real back saving device - as mentioned and recycling tea bags (oh yes! Used twice too!) was no joke - I grow a lot of my own vegetables.
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Tron,
Be careful not to cut back to "brown wood". Leylandii won't shoot from old wood - always leave a bit of green for it to shoot from - otherwise you will get bald patches.
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(cont from last volume)
It looks lik it is the control switch that is snafu'd. and i'd like to try and replace it. Two of the pipes from the control switch have valves on, fine, the third just goes up and into the h/w tank. I guess i'm going to need to drain the tank before removing the switch ?
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AFter you drain the tank put an isolating valve on the bottom so that next time (!) you don't have to drain the tank.
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Presumably you mean the 3-way valve rather than control switch? Is it actually the valve that is gubbed or the electronic drive on the top? The drive unit should be replaceable without disturbing the water side (unless it's quite old, in which case it might be one piece). Having valves on 2 of the connections but not the other seems a bit pointless to me, since you will have to drain the boiler circuit to replace the valve anyway - the pipe going to the HW cylinder will be going to the coil, so no need to drain the HW system - unless you've got a direct cylinder (which I find hard to believe!!). If you were prepared for a bit of leakage, and depending on how the feed to the cylinder is set up, you might get away with just closing the valves, then cracking the third union and letting the water drain back from the cylinder. If it's been in some time though, I'd be suspicious of whether the valves will seal or not.
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The valve/switch assembly was only put in about 2 yrs ago by a plumber. I wasn't there to see him do it, so i don't know if he did it without draining the tank, but if I had been there, I would have made noises about how cheap and nasty it looked.
I've never seen the switch/grey box/electrical gubbins on sale separately from the valve, only as assemblies (then again, i've only looked in B&Q)
And of course, the weather is now cold and wet, so SWMBO will be wanting it fixed yesterday......
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the motors can be replaced - although you need to dismantle the box to do so.
example, although tI wouldnt use screwfix for this its an easy source of a pic.
Some of the valves have motor/switch assemblies that can be popped off and replaced without disturbing the pipework/valve, others you need to remove the whole unit. - google on the model number you can see - different ones have different numbers of wires as well so you want one which is a suitable replacement.
www.screwfix.com/prods/28670/Plumbing/Central-Heat...r
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armed with the a manual from the screwfix site (they do have their uses !) I removed the actuator last night, and established that
(a) the actuator is working -i can see the socket\keyway\callitwhatyouwill move when switching between water\heating
(b) the spindle seems to move freely
(c) the c/h pump is working
so in theory I no longer have a problem. Perhaps the spindle/valve was seized and is now freed up, or the was not seated properly on the spindle (it does look slightly 'abused'), so I'll be putting it back together this evening and we'll see what happens
cheers
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I have a contract with O2, 15 months to run.
Not long after I renewed with a new N81 8gb, it came to a sticky end.
Insurance company unable to furnish an N81 to replace, gave me £££ to buy one myself (hurrah!)
Now I don't know what to buy. I am seriously tempted to buy a locked, used non 3g iphone from ebay. As I'm on O2, i can just put in my sim & I'm away. Trouble is, I also like the N82, N78, N95 8gb. All about the same price. Or I could get a direct replacement for the N81 and save IRO £100.
Any thoughts appreciated! I've not yet played with an iphone, so really liking on reputation and reviews. Not sure about the poor camera- the N82 knocks it into a cocked hat apparently.
Many thanks in advance,
Alex.
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I got a Nokia E51 yesterday and very pleased with it. It's business oriented so has only a 2MP camera, no front-facing VGA camera for video conferencing, etc. But does have the ability to play MP3s, has wifi and takes upto 8Gb memory. I like it a lot and was good value for an upgrade (£2) :-) Already have TomTom working too even though I have a TT 720 too.
Depends if you need the features of the N series but this is well built (not as good looking as say a 6220) and apparently the battery lasts for ages a bit like the classic 6310.
The other phone I nearly went for was the Vodafone exlusive 6124 but it was a bit flimsy and no wifi. I'd have liked a 6220 too (with inbuilt GPS) but no car cradle for my car kit.
Expansys have the E51 from around £185 - a lot of phone for the money IMHO.
The iPhone if you can get it by signing a new contract might be an option though. I like the iPod Touch interface a lot.
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From one use to the next, my Sanyo VHR 778E VCR sound and picture has stopped. It responds to "record" commands - quickstart and programmed - but that is all. A local dealer told me it was down to dirty heads and could happen as fast as it did. I have never heared of this sudden change, neither does a cleaning tape and fluid improve things. Can anyone suggest a remedy please? Since it dates from 1999 and has already had £50 spent on it for another reason, it is probably not worth a professional repair.
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It could be dirty heads - try running a reasonably new blank tape through at fast forward speed or, alternatively, you could carefully clean the heads yourself using cotton buds and that dry cleaning liquid stuff (of course not connected to the mains).
Another possible cause is that the pulley on the bottom of the drive motor (usually plastic with most VCRs) is broken and a new one is unlikely to be found.
In that case trying a model shop for a same size pulley is probably the only answer; if you found one it would also be a lot cheaper...:-).
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>>From one use to the next, my Sanyo VHR 778E VCR sound and picture has stopped.
>>It responds to "record" commands - quickstart and programmed - but that is all.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "picture has stopped".
Do you get live "off-air" TV from it when the tape isn't running?
Or has it lost all functionality apart from record commands?
If the latter, I wonder has it got into a "parental lock" mode?
It's a long shot, but our GOK what brand can be disabled by pressing the function/operate button on the remote for 5 seconds or more.
Repeat the press to enable it again.
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Local charity shop, get a new (in a sense) one. Do you actually record on it, or just use it to play tapes?
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Do you actually record onit or just use it to play tapes?
Both. By "stopped" I mean there is no sound or vision on my recordings (which seem to take place, as the counter shows) or on commercial tapes.
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>>there is no sound or vision on my recordings .... or on commercial tapes.
Go with Stuartli's suggestions then.
Counter running generally means the transport is OK.
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I should perhaps have elaborated a little about the plastic pulley possibly having suffered failure with my own experience, plus the fact that my best mate, for many years, owned an independent audio/visual/appliances outlet.
The failure of plastic pulleys was very common, but the manufacturers had a neat and profitable trick up their sleeve.
You could only obtain one as a spare part by buying the full motor complete with plastic pulley....:-(
My mate, wherever possible, would repair the pulley to the best of his ability using SuperGlue or other means, after advising a customer it was a much, much cheaper alternative, but one that would not necessarily be permanent. No customer turned down the cheaper alternative.....
I know it works because my 15-year-old Nicam sound all singing, all dancing VCR is still going strong after this simple repair done about three years ago. Saved me about £60 at the time and that was a trade price for the motor with no labour charge.
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Continued from last volume.
Have just removed the radiator from my bathroom ( micro bore system ) and can now confirm that the two pipe valve at the one end of the rad, does have a tube to bring water back to its outlet. This tube is about two thirds of the overall length of the rad.
Can anyone please confirm ( preferably from personal experience ) that by removing this valve with its pipe and putting a valve on each end of the rad, the rad will then perform as a more up to date rad would do, or would there be internal differences between the old and newer rads which would mean that it would not?
Many thanks.
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Yes it would work OK. The tube is simply to ensure circulation across the rad. Changing to a valve at each end will do the same job although you will have to drain down to do the job. Flush the rad whilst you have it disconnected.
The same principle was often used on old back boilers for the same reason.
wemyss
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I'm having a freesat dish installed tomorrow, and suddenly realised that due to the cabinet my various electronic boxes are in I need to know what the actual installation will involve in the house. I'm assuming that there will just be some sort of socket box, like a surface mounted power socket and the same sort of size and shape that the lead from the satellite will terminate in. I can't ask the installer because I don't know who it is or have any contact details for them as I organised it through John Lewis.
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the cable is like ordinary tv coax and the connectors are similar in size to tv connectors but threaded rather than push on. The faceplates are usually just like ordinary tv faceplates but the connector sticks out and has a thread on it. You can see them in any diy shop or in the online catalogues. the terminators are called F-connectors.
No idea if your install will be through a faceplate or just a cable and connector - I guess you tell the guy what you want when he turns up.
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Most Sky installations I've seen ( and Freesat is receiving the same signals from the same satellite) just have a lead coming out of the wall, with an 'F' type connector on the end. Whilst extra connections are generally to be avoided I've got two extra joins in my downlead with F type connections on and there's still adequate signal, so using a neater faceplate with an F type connetcor on shouldn't be an issue unless the signal levels are borderline to start with.
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It has been a fair while since I was in the USA and last time I was there predated digital cameras, Nintendo DS etc so I need a bit of advice.
Do I need a transformer to convert the 110V mains supply to 240V in order to use my phone charger, battery charger and my son's Nintendo DS charger? My feeling is that I don't need to as all that these things are is a step down transformer with a rectifier so if the input is 110V instead of 240V the recharging cycle will be longer. Is this correct?
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look on the plugs. They should have the input specified. typically 110-240Vac at 50-60Hz.
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Do I need a transformer to convert the 110V mains supply to 240V in order to use my phone charger battery charger and my son's Nintendo DS charger?
I'd be surprised if you did. I can't remember buying a piece of kit like that in the last few years that couldn't cope on its own. First thing is to check what it says on the charger itself. Usually (maybe it's even a requirement?) there is an input voltage specified and all the ones I've ever looked at say something like 110-240V.
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They'll be ok, I charged all my gadgetry there last week with no ill effects, you can't harm them as the voltage is lower than the UK.
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The London leg of the Red Bull air race is on August 2/3, and my son would like to go and watch. 'Thames Path Standing' tickets for the both of us would be £25, but are they worth it - how close can you get without tickets?
The course is near the O2 orena (aka Millenium Dome):
www.redbullairrace.com/images/races/london/area_ma...f
Personally I think the Motorshow (this Saturday) would be a better bet - I would like to watch the planes for a bit, but not for hours, and I think my son would get bored before me. Or is there more to it?
Cheers
John
Edited by Focus {P} on 21/07/2008 at 22:56
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>>
Personally I think the Motorshow (this Saturday) would be a better bet
Especially as it is £5 after 5pm and a lot quieter :-))
www.britishmotorshow.co.uk/visitors/ticketinformat...n
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I have purchased a charger with rechargeable LiMH AA batteries rated at 2500mAh for the new camera.
Advice is to charge batteries before use. A full charge is estimated at 8 hours and the charging light extinguishes when they are charged.
After a full day and two overnights the charging light it still on. I've checked the charge level using a multimeter and all the batteries are showing about 1.45v and aren't gaining anymore charge. New 'normal' AAs are giving nearly 1.6v.
Is this normal? Is it a faulty unit or battery? Should I use the batteries until flat then charge them again?
Edited by daveyjp on 23/07/2008 at 14:30
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I don't think NiMH batteries will show the same voltage as normal ones. What make charger and batteries?
My charger for NiMH batteries estinguishes the light eventually but it's not intelligent enough to know when the batteries are charged.
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Its an Energizer Ultra Compact system.
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I'd try them out and see how they last. When I used NiMH 2500mAh batteries in my compact digital camera they lasted ages before needing a charge.
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Whilst this does not answer your question directly the following link gives a comprehensive review of battery types and characteristics. I suspect the answer is buried therein.
site.greenbatteries.com/documents/Battery_Guide.pdf
pmh
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PMH That link is one of the most interesting ever. Thank you......and NO....I am NOT being sarcastic!
Cheers..............MD
Edited by Pugugly on 24/07/2008 at 21:19
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They shouldn't get hot when you charge them (current within limits!). Look at your charger and see what output it is, and see how long it should take to charge your batteries.
You could buy another charger for a fiver at tinyurl.com/6bz3u6, in use these seem OK (I've got one, which I've used a fair bit).
Batteries have different voltages. The output from a dry cell or alkaline or NiMH, etc., is different. There's a nice little chart in:
www.geocities.com/dsaproject/electronics/data_book...l
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If the light is meant to go out when charged and it doesn't after that long then there might be something wrong. I'd have thought they'd charge in a few hours (it's not a rapid charger is it?)
If you can take them back I would. And if you don't use the camera that often also consider Hybrio batteries. NiMH batteries lose charge even when not in use so can go flat in a couple weeks. This is where standard alkaline batteries are better. but Hybrio batteries also lose less charge. Downside is they do not come in such high capacities.
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I believe the nominal voltage for those is 1.3v, so they are probably fully charged.
Never (in future!) leave them charging for more than 24hrs - 15hrs is normal.
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Most chargers have a cut off after batteries are fully charged.
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AA NiMH rechargeable batteries are 1.2V and lose about one per cent of their charge a day if not being used.
Older battery chargers, such as the "intelligent" one I have, were intended for use with batteries that had a much lower mAh figure - to overcome this, when the green "Charged" light comes on I flick the charger off and then on again; it then continues charging higher capacity batteries, although it might have to be flicked off and on again a couple of times.
The other half is well versed in the routine as most charging of batteries is for her portable radio so that she can listen to TALKSport half the night...
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Thanks all. The batteries work, the camera gets plenty of use so I'll ignore the light and charge overnight as and when necessary.
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......trouble is she can't remember the title and shop is in Salem, Massachusetts !
Its a biography about a guy who left home changed his name and was found dead in Alaska -
any ideas ? !!!!
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Google says it may be
"Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer "
the biography of Chris McCandless, a pathetic and self-centered
www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/10/9/172621/650
Edited by jbif on 24/07/2008 at 18:01
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Brilliant and thanks - I did try Google ! Unbelievable this site
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That sounds like the story that was turned into a film we saw recently. The film was called Into the Wild about Christopher McCandless.
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Yes there is a DVD following a browse on e-bay and Amazon: Won't tell her that yet a book will keep her out of my hair for longer.
Edited by Pugugly on 24/07/2008 at 18:16
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The film did not end like I'd have expected a typical American movie - sad ending but based on a true story.
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Oh go-on spoil it for me !!!! No doubt she'll want the film and I'll have to watch !
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I didn't totally spoil it ;-) If I remember rightly the film is fairly long so you might want to not watch it so to speak... over 2 hours anyway which for this type of film is long.
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As I have said i have several "projects" where two hours would be useful.
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For a second, from your description of someone dying in Alaska, I thought it might be one about Timothy Treadwell, the subject of the Herzog documentary, Grizzly Man.
But its obviously not that one!
www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/
Edited by Rich 9-3 on 24/07/2008 at 18:43
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Living with grizzly bears - I can guess the outcome - not the best community to live with I would imagine, especially if someone pinched their porridge.
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Watch out though PU if Ms PU hankers after an adventure holiday and then cries off citing work commitments at the last minute...
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I was once told my someone from Pennsylvania that USA citizens are eligible for land in Alaska if they want it... not sure if it's true but would you want to stay there long term?
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I'm going to need to make a train journey next week which will involve three different train companies.
I've looked at a couple of online train sites. If I buy the cheapest ticket I am supposed to use specific trains, what happens if one of the early ones is delayed and I miss a connection? Can I continue and use whatever trains will get me there or have I 'lost' the rest of the ticket?
Is this why the web sites selling tickets seem to want to sell me insurance? If so will that insurance cover all the extra costs or do I need to be careful?
thanks
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This happened to me once. The train company that caused the delay will give you a chit which should be accepted as a reasonable excuse for the subsequent journeys.
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Excellent. Thanks Nick.
Why on earth they split the railways as they did.....
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The Pezzer household are popping off to the Sun this weekend and at the last moment I've decided I would like to buy a compact digital camera. A couple have caught my eye but I dont know too much about it. However i want one with a rechargable battery, which will take SD cards.
I am tempted by either a Pentax Optio M40 or a Pentax Optio V15, these are both available at the £80 ish mark retail (cheaper online I know but no time left).
I'd welcome any views/experiences/suggestions at this price.
Thanks
P
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All much of a muchness for this price. There are some good review sites out there for digital cameras.
I used them when deciding which camera to buy recently. trusted reviews and whatdigitalcamera being just 2.
The office camera is a four year old Canon Ixus 700(IIRC) compact and it produces excellent results.
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You should be able to find the Canon A570IS and its closely associated brothers for around £80 to £100 quite easily and the more expensive A7(xx) models for about 40 to 50 per cent more.
These are first class digital cameras with a proper viewfinder, at least 5MP and (if the model number has IS included) image stabilisation to prevent camera shake. The A570IS, as the model number indicates, is a 7MP model.
See:
tinyurl.com/ytu4hc for a review done last year and:
tinyurl.com/65muzp
for a price example.
The younger offspring has the Canon A710IS with 6x optical zoom which produces superb photographs.
Re a real viewfinder. I couldn't imagine using a camera with just a TFT screen and certainly not in bright sunshine.
Edited by Stuartli on 25/07/2008 at 14:02
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Many thanks I will keep an eye open for one of these. They seem to rate highly in the reviews as well.
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To continue for Pezzer's benefit.
Its Mrs Daveyjp birthday tomorrow and she decided she wanted a 'handbag' sized camera.
Went along to Boots and they had an Olympus FE-270 with 50% off. Down to £69.99. The display model was the last one so they gave 10% off, the batteries had been used so they threw in some new lithium AAs.
On top of that there were 250 points extra Boots points worth £5 and a voucher for 90 free prints - about £9 - camera ended up being about £50. Spec is 3x zoom, 7.1 megp. Difficult to say no!
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What would the panel recommend one does with regard to a tradesman who wanted to be paid a large amount - over £2500 - in cash?
I cannot think of any reason why anyone would want that kind of money in cash (other than tax evasion, of course.)
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What would the panel recommend one does with regard to a tradesman who wanted to be paid a large amount - over £2500 - in cash?
It depends on whether the work's been done, and his price compared to other prices, and whether one's satisfaction with the job!
I cannot think of any reason why anyone would want that kind of money in cash (other than tax evasion of course.)
Very likely. Make sure any paperwork re. guarantees, etc. is up to scratch.
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I cannot think of any reason why anyone would want that kind of money in cash (other than tax evasion, of course.)
Entirely a matter to be agreed between the two parties.
www.royalmint.gov.uk/Corporate/BritishCoinage/Lega...x
"Both parties are free to agree to accept any form of payment whether legal tender or otherwise according to their wishes. "
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Quite right, jbif.
My real query, however, concerned the reason for the tradesman's desire. No agreement was made beforehand about the means of payment.
Edited by tyro on 25/07/2008 at 14:15
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>>No agreement was made beforehand about the means of payment.
In which case, you might get a discount for paying cash.
Also, banks charge businesses, say 50p per transaction. So 50p to put the money in, and 5 or 10 more 50ps to take it out.
The overdraft one is the best reason, though.
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I have a friend who runs a small building company, and he will often ask to be paid in cash, which he then uses to pay his lads on a friday afternoon - and before you ask, yes, it all goes through the books ;-)
another likely scenario is that your tradesmans business is overdrawn at the bank - you pay him a cheque, he's still got no funds....
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Absolutely. If the tradesman wants cash, and has done the agreed work to an acceptable standard, and you can get the cash without fearing being robbed on the way out of the bank, what's the problem?
I don't see anyone else's tax affairs or cash-flow problems or simple dislike of bureaucracy as my business.
If a tradesman unknown to you wants a large advance though, you are entitled to look a bit prune-faced about it.
Edited by Lud on 25/07/2008 at 14:58
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I would suggest its more a cashflow thing. My neighbour works on the limit of his suppliers' accounts - his money is "out" awaiting payment, sometimes for months so a wedge of cash is useful to buy materials - I would say even more imperative these days to have wedge somewhere. Mrs P helps him with his books (he does minor works for us in return) and she says he's scrupulous to the nth degree and brings out wads of cash at times, it makes it difficult to balance books but it's the real politik these day
Edited by Pugugly on 25/07/2008 at 15:04
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I don't see anyone else's tax affairs . . . as my business.
This is a matter in which opinions will differ. Some people see deliberate tax evasion as theft from other British tax-payers, and thus very much their business.
If one sees it that way, then assisting someone one suspects of tax evasion (e.g. by paying them in cash) is basically ethically equivalent to assisting the getaway of a person one suspects of being a pickpocket.
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Both highly unlikely in my experience.
An wholly honest builder (as far as relationships with HMRC go) is very rare, and one who wants payment in cash is even more unlikely to be honest.
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About six years ago, based on extremely reassuring recommendations from neighbours, we had a double-glazed kitchen door fitted by an independent joiner/window fitter for an agreed price.
I paid him, much to his surprise, in cash. He checked that the amount was correct and then handed me £40 back.
I queried this and he stated it was because I had paid in cash - I insisted that he kept the full amount as that had been the price agreed between us for the door replacement.
Not long afterwards he took on the task of fitting double-glazed front porch doors and windows in our Victorian semi-detached, confirming that not only did he charge a reasonable price, but that his workmanship was faultless.
This particularly applied to the dismantling of the front room's main window bay, re-built by a similar master joiner some 20 years earlier, which only someone of genuine knowledge and experience could achieve satisfactorily.
That probably explains why we had to wait seven to eight months before he was able to take on the porch and windows double-glazing work...:-)
Edited by Stuartli on 25/07/2008 at 16:43
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So long as you get a receipt + any guarantees why worry? However, no receipt= no cash!
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Thanks for those replies.
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I was watching a programme on C5 this morning about the building of the Queen Mary 11. The six engines used to manouvre the ship when docking each weigh as much as a Jumbo jet. Obviously the main engines are bigger, but they didn't go into detail.
I was wondering (as you do), what is the biggest and most powerful engine ever made, either in size and/or power output?
Edited by Robin Reliant on 26/07/2008 at 14:46
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I would think that NASA must have some pretty powerful stuff.
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On the programme i saw a few months ago (possibly her maiden voyage?) the main engines to which you refer, are actually the same ones used for docking. As you said, there are six of them, underslung to the hull, on thier own pylons, each engine has its own propellor and can rotate through 360 degrees (either as a group with the other five, or independently). In main use all six engines face forward and the propellors pull the ship through the water as opposed to conventional ships, who's propellors push them. During docking procedures, four of the engines are kept running, but have the props "feathered" so they are not actusally providing any motive power, one of the bow engines and one of the stern engines are turned towards the berth, and literally pull her into dock sideways. The other engines are kept running in case something goes wrong and she needs to cancell the manouvre sharpish!.
Billy
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Hmmm! according to Wikipedia, my memory of some of the facts are somewhat inaccurate!!
Apparently, although she has six engines (four diesel and two gas-turbine) they drive four pod-mounted electric propusion units under the hull, the front two are fixed, but the back two rotate thru 360 degrees.
I was almost right though! - she pulls herself into docks she can actually fit in, with her rear engine units. and because she pulls herself through the water she doesn't have a rudder.
Billy
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"Queen Mary 11" I must have missed the other nine ! :-)
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tinyurl.com/6kc6ty
Q How would you refit the cam belt?
A Take the famous words from the Haynes manual, - "Refitting is a reversal of removal"
pmh
Beat you to it!!!! ;)
Edited by pmh on 26/07/2008 at 18:01
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Here you go, tinyurl.com/39j58l on another ship, this one is a container ship though.
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!
Edited by pmh on 26/07/2008 at 18:01
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This is a large engine
www.kemptonsteam.org/kempton-index.html
It's at Kempton on the A316 about 20 miles South West of london. Open to the public and in steam normally once a month.
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