GlennB

That helps a lot, 5B. Ta! If you're still here though, what do you think of putting some of this angle iron into the footings as reinforcement? Useful?

Anyone here suspecting a plot to bleed the media for the "exclusive" story? Or have they already? Edit : What Worms said

No builder me, so I'd appreciate any advice. I'm aiming to build a breeze block and paving stone staircase down from a raised path to a lower patch of garden. The total drop is about 3'6" I've dug a 4' x 8' trench, 10" deep (to bedrock - it's rocky here). Made a timber form around it. Put in about 5" of hardcore and smashed and tamped that down hard with a sledgehammer. Yes, my back hurts. Some questions: Should I aim to apply the concrete in one go, or is it a good/OK/rotten idea to use some fairly sloppy concrete mix to fill the voids in the hardcore first while leaving it rough enough for the final concrete? I have loads of old "L" section metal fence posts, about 1" x 1" section. Would it be useful to embed these? The staircase will run alongside a drystone wall that sits on the bedrock. Would it be helpful to drive metal rods into the wall gaps and cement them into the stairs? Should I infill the hollow sections of the final staircase with hardcore/concrete? Between the breeze blocks I mean, not in the block voids. I'm worrying here about the total weight that ends up sitting on these footings. Other good advice might be obvious to youse who know about these things Cheers

Glad to have set your mind at rest. That'll be £1,000 for the financial consultancy, and I'll need a fat yearly bonus from A.N. otherwise I'll take my expertise elsewhere (that's how it works in The City, innit?) How's it going by the way? Any juicy barbel to report?

Hmmm. But I bought 100 HBOS shares at £10 each (say). The person I bought from now has "my" £1000. He used to have some little tickety things that represent "shares", but now I have those. OK, I'm not too thrilled about all this, but the actual money is still there. The cunning HBOS share-seller has it. Consider a default on a house. Suppose the bank provides 200k on a 100% mortgage. The house seller gets the 200k. The new owner defaults after a bit, leaving the bank with the money from a few mortgage payments plus a repossessed house of indeterminate value (just like the share certificates). Money - as such - hasn't been "lost". In both cases it's the potential return - in the future - on these shares and this house that has changed. The cash involved in both the transactions is still in circulation, but has changed hands. (disclaimer - I have no clue how economics work)

Apparently many billions of $$$'s have been "lost" around the world lately. Lost where? I mean - if a group of us sat down to play poker and I lost some money, one of you must have won it. So what's the problem with all this "lost" money". Just check out who won it and ask for a refund. Or wait for them to spend it on goods or services and the economy will be suitably stimulated.

Well said ! Penny Lane.

Life's great Learning Greek is a total b#tch and the fishing in the Med is mostly cr#p (tho I caught my first thin-lipped mullets a while back), but on the plus side <gloat mode> yer cabbages and swedes grow on a treat in 14C "winter" temperatures </gloat mode>. Like you we're seriously considering getting some livestock, probably chickens or turkeys. The only issue is that while you can kennel your dog or farm out a parrot to friends while you go away for a bit, getting people to put the turkeys away at night can be tricky. But then, where would I want to go? Reading your posts on the PETA stuff reminded me of around here. The meat is well expensive but stunning quality. We're on good terms with the local butcher who is actually quite chuffed to rustle up "proper" bits of beef for us, rather than the bright red slabs of boring vealish stuff that is popular in these parts. How's you? Still "oop north?" out of mobile phone range? Drop us a p.m. Offer still open

An interesting argument Here's a thought - let's have a 20 mph max speed limit to cater for the dolts who can't handle a car at higher speeds. If this saves one life it'll be worth it, eh Andy? And of, course, folks should be subject to a body-mass index test before being allowed to order burgers, pizzas and pork chops. Could save lives, eh? Nah - anybody likely to get engaged in knife crime will pick up something nasty anyway. Bear in mind that 9/11 was executed by terrorists with box-cutters (Stanley knives, in the UK). That EBay might want to cover their legal or PC arse by banning the sale of certain items is a slightly different matter.

Rugby can harm your health. Rugby can wreck your knees and even leave you paralysed. Treating injured rugby players in hospital costs everybody money. Meanwhile smokers pay a fortune in taxes that more than pays for 'excess' treatment, and - what's more - die earlier thus saving the country fortunes in state pensions. Personally, I'd leave rugby players and smokers to get on with it, as long as they don't harm others. oh ...

Brilliant, thanks all. And thanks for the laughs too ...

I'm making some anti-bug screen doors, but they need to be able to swing both in+out , at the whim of our black Labrador. Either that or we're up+down 20 times an hour letting him in or out. So ideally spring-loaded hinges would seem to be called for, but they would need to be 'neutral' at the 90 degree position (screen doors shut). Online catalogues from Screwfix etc have spring hinges but don't explain how they work. Any clues appreciated.

So - according to you - every unmarried mother is so promiscuous she can't identify her child's father? Oh dearie me, Klein. Patronising or what, my dear boy ? If it's such an established truth then no doubt you can post many links to learned studies that support your assertion. Folks have been saying exactly the same thing since the beginning of recorded history.

No, it's just force of habit. They're expressions we all learned when we were young and they become embedded. No doubt Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and the rest let slip such mild profanities at times. It can't possibly reinforce the truth of their belief systems, though.

I'm a Pastafarian myself, a devout believer in the true God - the Flying Spaghetti Monster - who created the Universe "after drinking heavily". The FSM has exactly as much evidence to support its existence as any conventional deity, and has a much better sense of humour.

Hmmm ... we've ploughed through the Greek "Exchange & Mart" equivalent, through all the dealers and private sales, but can't find one for love or money. Also, our builder guy says a sizeable estate would be tricky in the very narrow & winding village lanes ( my old Nissan Almera has about 6" clearance on both wing mirrors when negotiating the very narrowest bit). As we do so little driving and rarely take passengers or large loads, we're considering the Fiat Panda 4x4. Let me stress that road holding and modest vehicle size are our main objectives, not space or performance or off-road capabilities. Might be worth pointing out that Greek 2nd hand prices are outrageously high to Brit eyes. You might as well buy new rather than a 2 or 3-yr old car. And something that would be flogged off for £300 in the UK will fetch 2k here. No real idea why, just not the same 2nd hand value mentality as far as I can see. Any thoughts?

No plans at all to go off road, at least not deliberately It's purely to deal with wickedly bad local roads.

We're looking for a smallish second-hand 4wd for the narrow, very steep and often slippery lanes in these parts. We do very few long journies and little driving in general. Any recommendations for something smallish, 5-door, 1500cc kind of range if such a thing exists. A friend has a Suzuki Jimny but it's a bit of a rock+roller, and the 2-doors are a real nuisance with occasional passengers with luggage. Any help appreciated.

Knowing little about cars, I think there's a Riley in there somewhere

Wise words. But on the subject of 'apologies' for past misdeeds, I'm looking for the current Italian govt. to offer an apology for the wicked and unprovoked Roman invasions of our shores, roughly 54 b.c. etc, and the subsequent oppression of innocent .... er .... woad-covered natives. Ditto the French govt for the Norman invasion in 1066 and making us all speak French for a bit and eat snails and all. I think the Vikings were a bit naughty too, so large lumps of Scandinavia also owe us a "sorry mate".

Was Hamilton 'forced' to cross the loop of the chicane? If so, he was hard done by. But when I watched it i thought there's no way he's going to keep this win.

Maybe all high-tech civilisations are necessarily greed-driven and wreck their own planets before they can make contact with the rest of the universe? Or maybe Einstein was right and it's just too bloody far .... Anyhoo - I had one of those mini black holes floating around the house today. Flipped it away with a fly-swatter. Hah!

An American friend once described his anthem as "unsingable"

Thank heavens that's over! Much as I'm addicted to it, it's a relief not to have to be plugged in all day. But -- A sports-crazy nation like S.Africa nabs a solitary silver medal? Are they totally obsessed with rugby and cricket?

Unless the GM crop's pollen cannot be controlled. I believe an American non-GM maize(?) farmer was prosecuted by Monsanto for the sheer audacity of letting part of his crops be fertilised by GM pollen from a neighbouring GM field. I suppose you could shove an ASBO on all those bees. Or the wind.