Thanks for that link! We were visiting my grandfather at my Uncle's house in Rugby when the first snows came - we woke up to a world of white. It was very exciting at first.
My father couldn't drive up to get us (we had an old Reliant!) and the buses weren't running. My grandfather had been a GWR guard and he pulled a few strings and so we travelled south in the guards van to a point were another uncle, with his Austin could pick us up and get us home. My brother reminded me of that only today.

Not only weren't the men wearing gloves or heavy coats - the boys were all wearing shorts too.

It is snowing again here, and we are promised freezing rain (ijzel) here tomorrow.

Maybe they are a business, but it is true that third party lens makers are dropping Pentax. Including Tamron who seem to be doing so more stealthily than Cosina, by simply not bringing out new lenses in KAF fitting.

As for Cosina going into 4/3rds - I assume they will support the PEN then, since Olympus, main maker of 4/3rds cameras, have said they are stopping making DSLRs.

Not everyone can afford Pentax lenses, and Pentax have a very limited range - nothing over 300mm which means 3rd party lenses are useful for those with a smaller budget or needing a longer lens.

Thank goodness for Sigma is all I can say.

I have a firewall as well Smeggy, but that doesn't pick up infected mail.

Pentaxophile - you can turn the voice off. Like you it made me jump, and really got annoying. My husband choose the female voice option, but I like a silent computer so along with all the Windows noises it had to go.

Surprisingly good according to Trusted reviews.

I agree. Though mine is a slightly more tasteful lime green .

The lanes aren't just for the players - they are for all the FIFA representatives, their sponsors and anyone else they care to name.
Given that many Dutch and some Belgian motorways are on 2 lanes in each direction that would have been a serious problem here.

The fact that they weren't going to pay VAT on anything was another massive annoyance.

The Russians are welcome to them.

I use Avast on the PC and Microsoft Security Essentials on the net book. I threw the trial version of Norton off as the first thing I did on the netbook.

I gave up paying for virus protection because my PC was so slow and bogged down by it always.

I used AVG for a while, but like Avast better, and like MSE even more.

Lots of virus checkers - including those you pay for - throw up mistakes of one sort or another on occasion. It just happens to be AVGs turn, and with a real doozy.

I don't think the press had anything to do with it. Really I don't. They didn't like the Dutch Belgian or Spanish Portuguese offerings either - and there was no scandal in their press, apart from the expense of it all and that FIFA insisted on special lanes on motorways, and tax free living for all their officials.

FIFA went for the money, as they always do. How much ended up in their back pockets I wouldn't care to speculate upon.

I am relieved it is not here or in the UK tbh.

Qatar in the summer will be hell for everyone involved unless all matches and training take place in indoor air conditioned arenas.

I'm mildly interested in it. Years of living with a rabid football fan get to you in the end. If you can't beat them and all that.

In case you missed this on the home page:
https://www.pentaxuser.com/news/try-before-you-buy-this-christmas--261

Cotoneaster for me. I also like the frozen carnations, but agree with Gareth about the crop.

One of my Amazon orders has been sitting in Bedfordshire for three days now.

Good job I'm not desperate for it.

I hope the lens arrives safely today and the K-5 gets there tomorrow. nothing worse than sitting around waiting for a delivery man. She says, whilst sitting around waiting for a delivery man, though not for anything exciting like a lens or another K-5 .