snotty

from nothing we came and unto nothing we shall return? I see no riddle.....

Mmmm... not so good it is, rumbled he has been.

I agree with not using your mobile whilst driving, however Ian is right, there are far more dangerous but legal things you can do when driving. One thing which bugs me is when I see the lunatics fiddling with the sat nav whilst in motion, what is that all about? and while I'm on the subject isn't it illegal to be able to see a screen with moving images from the driving seat, yet apparently not illegal to mount one in zone 1 on your windscreen. The law is crazy. How long is it going to be before someone is killed whilst playing with their tom-tom.

Maybe you need to structure your journeys Kleinboet, in order to avoid school start and finish times. If the traffic cannot pass the parked vehicles outside the school it sounds as though the traffic police need a kick up the jacksi, when my kids were at school many years ago, the headteacher banned vehicles from parking outside the school with the aid of the local authority and the police. Yellow lines were painted and enforced. I do get a bit tee'd off with constant sniping at 4x4 drivers though, (yes of course I drive one). It doesn't matter whether its a Cayenne or a Ka if its parked stupidly its a hazard and should be actioned.

I have noticed TB keeps referring to 'national' road pricing schemes. That is to say he isn't ruling out 'local' road-pricing schemes, I think there is probably more to fear from 'crazy councillors' down at the town hall imposing their private versions of utopia than central government. Two ideas to reduce congestion:- 1) remove speed humps, artificial chicanes and similar 'calming(?)' schemes where necessary to encourage through-flow of traffic and avoid bunching of vehicles. 2) get Tony's army of traffic officers away from the m-ways onto the local traffic hotspots, take a long hard look at the phasing of traffic lights at different times of the day to reduce the effects of congestion wherever posssible. How many of you know a junction near you which would benefit from a left hand filter lane or re-phased lights during rush-hour to stop that 10 second hiatus when all the lights are on red or the only green is the side street that sees two cars per hour using it.

I think his prescence will increase the likelihood of attack in Basra but maybe its easier to fight an enemy if you have a good idea where his likely target is. Just maybe it relieves the pressure on troops elsewhere a little bit and centralises the enemy forces. I wouldn't do what he and so many others are doing so I take my hat off to them all. I hope they are all soon home safely. If however he does what soldiers often do i.e. gets killed, I won't particularly mourn for him just because he's part of the royal family. He's there to do a job and thats what is expected of him.

There is one major difference between this round of climate changes and those previous. Never before have we had 'our' governments deciding the way forward for us. Whether it is 'our' fault or not, even in a small way doesn't really matter, we are going to pay and pay and pay again so that the politicians can be seen to be doing something. Re-cycle or be fined, cut back use of the car or pay higher taxes, whatever the scheme the punter pays. I should say, those nice responsible globally minded western civilised punters, will pay. Most of asia, africa, the far east with the exception of Japan, the old russian empire, most of south america and a fair chunk of europe will continue to do what they do best... buggger all. The outcome is that our country will get too hot or too cold, too dry or too wet, for our angling to continue as we know it, depending on which scientific body gets it right. Personally, I won't be around when the oil runs out, but it won't matter to my kids, by then cars will be running on vegetable oil, or some other fuel developed for the job. It may cost them £20 a litre but hey who cares. We all have one chance at life, to spend it 'urinating in the prevailing wind' to coin a phrase is not my idea of life, so make the best of it while we can, enjoy the changes and the challenges they bring and hope that just maybe some of our gene pool makes it through to the next millenium... that's it folks.

I can remember following the Apollo 8 Christmas around the moon mission, and I was allowed to stay up to watch Apollo 11, I saw the first steps... awesome. I had the Airfix models; Saturn V & lunar module, watched James Burke explaining the 'burn' for orbital entry. Robbie the robot was about as weird as things got until the Daleks arrived. Ron Grainer and his radiophonic workshop ruled, it was still light years away from the mini-moog. Summers lasted from late Spring until September, A car journey from my home in north lancashire to visit relatives in Liverpool took ages, no M6 then, you wouldn't dream of doing it as a day trip, it was planned with precision. They were memorable times. Life now is too stressful, too fast moving, we are too readily available, one click and you can buy, sell, trade, talk globally. Were there almost instantaneous stock market highs and lows back then when communication was more leisurely? I was too young to bother with those things and we certainly didn't learn it at school, unlike todays budding young sixth formers. The media didn't hype every story as if it were global news. There was a balance, an order of things, which somehow got lost along the way, together with 'common sense'. Now we seem unwilling to wait until next week, everything is 'next-day delivery' broadband at only 1/2meg? huh too slow! Let me off this crazy planet, I'm feeling nauseous...

Don't you mean... have a break, have a tit cat?

So that's why top cat isn't on the telly anymore. ...and here we see Sharon, modelling her latest fur-lined wonderbra...

I had three within an hour recently on a local stillwater, on red maggot size 18 hook, together with roach and perch a good mixed swim.

I got onto a local stillwater recently, fished relatively lightly with a small waggler rod size 18 hook and maggot, tried both sides of the lake, after 4 hours blank ! not a twitch... Then another angler told me I was fishing way too far out. I ended up fishing an area two rod lengths out about a metre square. I put on a pole rig and had three tench (!) a roach and a bucket of perch inside an hour. Sometimes winter fishing can be frustrating most-times you can learn a lot, when it clicks its wonderful.

Im not sure I agree wholeheartedly with your disappearing people conspiracy theories Chesters, but Im with you on the shielding... bring it on. Whatever technology is used there will be counter-technology readily available, and the more complex it gets the more ways around will be found. I agree policing this will be a nightmare, I think the government realise this but that never stopped them before. As for the petition... IMO wasting your time, the only way to combat bully boy tactics is the French way, just ignore the stupid rules completely... there aren't enough prison places for real crims let alone a fraction of the motorists unlucky enough to be caught without a black-box. Lets face it the bill can't even ensure everyone has a valid driving licence and tax disc and that is all operated through one agency DVLC. Will these plans mean that every visiting vehicle from another country will also require to be kitted up? all those Eastern European truckies ! mmmm think not.

I have absolutely no comment to make on the caption Newt, except to say... COME ON YOU BEARS !!!!!

I'm sick to the back teeth with plans to curb car use and force people to use other means. I can't get the 30 miles to work at 6 in the morning on any form of public transport. I couldn't get a vaguely direct route at any time of the day. I aint gonna cycle 60 miles a day. at any time or in any weather. There's no-one lives near me I can share with. Even if I could share I don't particularly want to be burdened with someone else's conversation, musical taste, aftershave and timetable. I want to do my own thing in my own way in my own time and I am not unique. So to all the politicians 'green' campaigners and woolly thinkers out there who are keen to grab my taxes and charge me even more for using the roads, and come up with schemes like this expecting me to pay for it, forget it ! Sure congestion bugs me, I just don't buy the notion that bus lanes, cycleways, toll charges, and higher fuel and duty taxes will solve the problems.

Well done ginger, I'm hoping to catch a few tomorrow, its been thick fog and freezing all day here hope its a little better come morning. It looks like whatever you're doing is right, one of these days mummy perch is going to pull your string.

Andrew PM me your email, I have taken a pic of the diagram which may help. If not, I can dig out the reel over the weekend and send a pic of the actual handle.

Andrew I have a Wychwood Rogue freespin 60, the illustrated view is on the box and not a lot of help. There are no part numbers, the Handle assembly is item 57 ( it is a single arm handle ) Unfortunately my scanner is dead at the moment and it will be monday before I can get into work and photocopy the box, I could then post you a copy if you wish.

Oooh ! like two boiled eggs in a handkerchief.

The canals around here are full of them, sometimes when the mood takes me I get my whip out and have a couple of hours fun, you could say I fancy a little bit of ruffe.

If my wife started ringing a bell to get my attention, I'd soundproof the kitchen.

Nice one Ginger ! You are in very good company, many if not most(?) coarse anglers first get their lines pulled by a little stripey. You will no doubt catch zillions of them over the coming years and still remember that little one from yesterday. Your next mission is to find and catch his mother, a big one something over 2lb is a fighting fish, I think the record is approx 6lbs. Doesn't the thought of that fill you with awe.

You could try the Shropshire canal anywhere from Mollington A540, through Backford and past the zoo, up to the M53 J11, there are a good head of roach and some nice perch and pike swims. Towpaths are good and the far bank is often reedbeds, perfect for preds. Boat traffic in summer can be frustrating as can the large clumps of reeds floating through but its a pleasant stretch to rove. Tightlines.

What an enlightening topic, many thanks Janet for posting it. I have had very few problems with boaters. If they stick in the channel and lets face it we should both know where that is on any given stretch, and reduce speed to tickover, that's great, an acknowledgement is a pleasant bonus too. I always reel in on their approach, though I didn't appreciate the steerage thingy, so I've learned something and will allow more time in future, and indicate my location in advance. The unavoidable bugbear for boaters appears to be a match, for me its a flotilla all doing 2mph with 100yds between them, I've had it happen and it signals time to go home. One boater had the courtesy to tell me roughly how many boats were in the line to come through, which was very decent. Communiation is a wonderful thing. I was once told that if the wash from your boat cruising in the middle, hits the bank and rebounds you are probably going too fast, as a general rule of thumb, don't know how true that is though. As always there are a small minority of boaters who draw level with you before churning the water to a froth as if trying to make a point. Abuse is not acceptable from either side. I do wonder what would happen if a boat was approaching me whilst I was engaged in a fight with a monster pike determined to hug the far bank snags? I doubt the boater would know how to cope with 50lb powerpro braid clearing his top deck of plants etc...

Now then, there's a place I've not been to in years, it used to be good for a tench or two and crucian carp so I was told, never saw any cru's though. Mind you I'm going back 20 years.