Peter

I'm glad my work schedule was last week rather than this week. Monday last week in Ross on Wye, Cheltenham and Evesham. Don't think I would have made it this week. now back in sunny Suffolk. As Elton says, hardly any rain worth mentioning. East Anglia is always described as being 'dry' now I'm glad it is! Peter

My son and his girlfriend went into a 'Little Chef' restaurant and asked for an omelette, Got the reply 'We are out of omelette would you like a griddled egg? My son asked why they couldn't whisk a couple of eggs up to make an omelette and was told ' We can't do that because of hygiene regulations. All our omelette comes in packets'

Rather off topic but on the lines of faulty items. A company I do some part time work for has recently leased a machine to fold forms and insert them into envelopes. Initially the machine was about a month late arriving which caused problems as it was leased for a particular job and wasn't available to be used when needed. When it did arrive, the engineer installed it but the display showed a major fault with one section of it. It later transpired that a ribbon cable connecting 2 sections of the machine was faulty because one connection had missed the 'crimp'. (obviously thoroughly tested before leaving the factory). Due to faults feeding envelopes through, investigation revealed a rough edge on a plate inside which had to be rubbed smooth. Quality control appeared to be non-existant on this machine. Engineers must have been there every day for the next two weeks without success. everything got the blame. the envelopes were declared the problem (Incidentally supplied by the machine suppliers). Change of envelopes failed to cure the problems. the final answer was to replace the machine with one that they had actually tested. The situation had not been improved as this was a new machine which none of the engineers was used to. One stated he had attended a seminar two years ago but had no actual experience of the machine.

Chesters made some disparaging comments about the value of recycling. He is not wrong! Not very far from me in Suffolk is a 'Green Waste' composting facility. Green waste is hauled down from London by large 'artic' tippers which as we all know do 'high miles per gallon' (not) It is then put through a mincer to break it into small pieces. This machine is powered by electric and is very energy hungry. the resulting shredded material is dumped on the ground and turned at intervals using tractors then to finish the process it is steam sterilised for two days. There is no market for the finished product and it is eventually taken by local farmers and spread on the fields. Just to add to the economy of the operation. the lorries return empty. because of the distance involved lorries are unlikely to to make more than one trip per day.

according to the news, reports are coming in from as far north as Bradford although they could have filled up in the south and got that far before the car died

Don't think he had time for a phone as well as his maps He was alone at the time so the other activities you allude to were not taking place although I couldn't see (and wouldn't want to know) if he was wearing his trousers.

I saw some interesting statistics the other day to the general effect that 32% of accidents involve drivers under the age of 21 years. the other part of it was that drivers under 21yrs account for 2% of the drivers. That would appear, (unless my maths is wrong) to indicate that 2% of drivers are involved in 32% of accidents. Before anyone starts jumping up and down, I am not saying that 2% of drivers are responsible for 32% of accidents but that is certainly one possible conclusion. While driving in London today, I saw a person driving with a map spread out on his steering wheel, he was not looking forward but towards the passenger seat where he appeared to be sorting other paperwork.

For several years I had a hands free fixed cradle kit fitted in the car. my wife has a similar phone to mine so we could both use the phone kit if alone in the car. Last year bought a large van for business use. unfortunately the old type cradle was no longer available to fit to the van. Not cheap but invested in 2 new phones, both bluetooth and a £250 fixed kit for each vehicle. There is an easy reach button to answer the phone, this cuts out the radio and puts the conversation over the radio speakers. the microphone is near the rearview mirror so anyone in the vehicle can speak to the caller. not perfect but you can drive with both hands on the wheel while carrying out your conversation

I also received my e-mail from Mr B-liar. I sent him a one word reply. It sort of ryhmes with those things in boats that support the oars. My wife also received one, so I replied for her as well. This reply involved a pineapple and a twisting motion. sufficiet to say I was not vastly impressed

Having been to 'Strescos' today I am fairly certain that that is the end off the hinged bar on the crate. The wide section pushes through a hole in the side of the crate and it hinges at about the broken edge of the piece you have. Peter

It looks similar to the plastic baskets that supermarkets display loose produce such as brocolli in. The colour is about right, most of these baskets have a bar at each end which fold down the side to allow baskets to stack inside each other or when on top allow baskets to stand on top of each other without crushing the contents. That could be the end of one of these bars.

Its a pity insurance companies aren't as swift at providing the services we are paying for as they are at taking the premiums. Last April I contacted the insurers who cover our house contents as I have some items on an all risks policy and I wished to amend the items covered. The renewal was due in June. about 4 weeks ago, (approx 8 months after contacting them) I received 2 letters from them. The first letter listed the new items on the policy from April to June 2006. The second letter listed the same items but from June 2006 to June 2007 and said I would be receiving a refund of about 75pence in a few days time. I don't know how long I will have to wait for that.

Hi Chris, I don't think I am totally blameless. It was one of those 'three lanes into two at walking pace'. I was in the middle lane. almost made it in but a small lorry in the outside lane disputed posession of that bit of road. Sufficient to say to say all my damage was behind my rear wheel and his was front nearside step.

There was the offer of a small courtesy car but because I had promised a friend that I would take him and his family to the airport I opted for a larger car which I had to pay for. That was fair enough but at the beginning of this week I let them take it back as I have access to other vehicles and did not need to be paying per day for the larger vehicle. It just seems rather an excessive time for the amount of work. Like you, I am not used to handing my vehicle to an insurance company.

a few years back the place where my wife works had some mice take up residence in a store cupboard. we had about 6 or 7 traps and I was given the doubtful pleasure of setting and emptying traps as none of the women were prepared to touch them. It wasn't on the scale of this but we must have had about 40 mice in 5 days. One day I had been in at lunchtime to remove a couple of corpses, I left and about 15 minutes later I was called back to remove yet another one. I was using lard for bait and it certainly works better than cheese. :-))