Another pointless thread

Somewhere, a Zebra is dancing.

Racing in the rain......

forget the brolly, it's a tad breezy.

The rain has stopped. The wind has stopped. I've checked the trail cameras in the garden. And we definitely have a rat running around near the house .

We had some under our decking at our last property, I purchased some blocks of poison from Screwfix put them down the holes and never saw another rat

They'd come from a neighbour ( passageway under the fence ) whom were liberal with their bird seed and bread on the lawn.

I hope it does not get into your house. We get the occasional rat outside, from the notoriously unhygenic oriental "Fish & Chips" takeaway a few doors away. One got into our old timber-framed village house earlier this year, when someone left the kitchen door open. It chewed its way through the lath-and-plaster internal walls and lived in the hollow between two old walls for months. It chewed holes in the wall, in the ceiling, and was a perpetual nuisance. Poisoned bait failed to kill it. I eventually caught it with an old fashioned spring trap. A big, wily old rat.

There are rats all around here. They used to keep out of the way, but became a nuisance when there was a local craze for keeping chickens. One got into my shed but poison sorted that out - I found a couple of bodies under the shed when it was demolished. No chickens around here now so I was hoping the rats would be keeping themselves to themselves. Apparently not. Poison has been laid (in a proper bait station, of course). It remains to be seen whether it will work. The bloke across the road reckons that you can never get the better of rats - and he used to work for Rentokil .

Steve

Used to have plenty of rats around the gardens due to people throwing uneaten food into their gardens for the birds. Called in Webley and Theoben who quickly rectified the situation as they continue to do on the local farms.

A friend (male, mid-70s) has decided to sell his Lotus Elise and use the space in his garage to play with his train set - oops, I mean build a model railway. He's already started buying locomotives to add to what has been sitting in boxes since his childhood. Is this normal? Is it a Good Thing? Is it the secret to a happy marriage in the 8th decade of your life? What is the female equivalent?

Steve

A toy-boy?

I've just tried to order some vacuum cleaner bags for an old (but very well designed and manufactured) Electrolux - only to find that they are no longer made and there are no alternative manufacturer bags available. It looks likely that I'm going to have to dispose of this working vacuum cleaner at some point in the near future - it's not the end of the world as our main hoover (Yes, we are very posh owning 2 hoovers) is lighter, newer and bags are still available, but it seems such a shame to lose such a good machine.

I know that newer dust-bag free hoovers use less power (and have less suction) and are more eco-friendly, but I'm sure it's better overall to use something to the end of its life.

How widely have you looked? I had a similar problem with a broken part on a Dyson. Couldn't find a replacement, it was too old. Eventually, discovered that a part for another model, which was available, would do the job. There was only a small difference and it didn't affect how it worked.

And I agree with you about using things to the end of their life. The energy and materials involved in making and disposing are likely to be greater than energy savings from greater efficiency. If everyone in the UK bought one less of everything during their lives, the savings in energy and materials would be ... well, pretty big.

Steve

Oh I've looked quite extensively, both online and in a few shops - I did find some suggestions online about making your own re-usable bags but my DIY skills are limited to say the least

I agree with your point about buying one less of everything - except when it comes to Cameras and Lenses but we can justify that is a good few purchases are second hand

Change of subject, just looked on the BBC site at the pictures of the year 2024..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-7b884428-f515-47ef-8380-711e2b053093

..and I can't help thinking the 'super' picture if the surfer celebrating catching a wave is Photo-shopped.

The line behind his feet looks wrong, as do his feet, they look like he's standing not in mid air.

Still that's just me..

..happy new year everyone.

HG

Another image from a different camera

https://olympics.com/en/news/gabriel-medina-picture-olympics-teahupo-o-paris-202...

Happy New Year