Merry Christmas One and All

Fuck buying presents for others too, buy 'em for yerself!

It's jsut a big excuse to get leathered, just what i'm going to do tonight!

We are having an unofficial meet in the local pub, well, two of us are anyway!

On or around Sat, 23 Dec 2006 12:15:44 -0000, "Nige" enlightened us thusly:

That's more or less what I said today, buying a new pair of active speakerettes for this pooter. I now have TSO's "Beethoven's Last Night" playing :-)

Thanks Richard, You too, thanks for your good service this year, may it continue and be a prosperous 2007 for you! TonyB

Lord who??? Blimey, been buying peerages then, if so you got a bum deal ;-)

I bought myself a decorator to sort my lounge out, finally I can use it after 3 years of dithering, it's a shame I knackered my central heating while putting the radiators back on! It appears to need refilling with water (downstairs radiators are bled, upstairs won't bleed, no water coming in) but it seems that it's either a pressurised system or the gubbins in the loft that I think ought to be refilling it is suffering from a blockage. I'll jury-rig a hosepipe to a radiator upstairs. Cue lots of water damage ;-)

Still, at least I've got an open fire in the lounge for christmas!

On or around Sat, 23 Dec 2006 17:06:25 +0000, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:

often what happens is the float valve in the header tank is seized through lack of activity. Assuming it has one of them, that is. Ours does, and once had this problem.

If it's pump circulated then bleeding with the pump on helps, I find.

I've given it a check, the valve works, I cleared some s**te out of the tank outlet pipe, may be blocked. I'll try squirting it with the hose that I'll be using to flood the house. I don't have a plunger, I tried using my cupped hand but it didn't help.

Tried that. I think the pump is full of air, going from the level of water that appears to be in the radiators, hence my planned attempt to at least partially refill the radiators via a hosepipe or probably something safer like a bowl, pipe and funnel.

|| Thanks Richard, || You too, thanks for your good service this year, || may it continue and be a prosperous 2007 for you! || TonyB

Been small people staying in the room where the pooters are, so haven't been online for several days. Now I'm back in cyberland, hope everyone had a great time and all good wishes for the New Year.

On or around Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:00:23 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

well, today I went for a nice drive in the countryside and a certain amount of walking in the bracing winter air.. Some people seemed to have brought a lot of dogs along, and they clearly expected dangerous wildlife as there were a good few 12-bores as well. [note to self, get licence and shotgnu, since the authorities seem to want us not to, and what more reason is needed?] and had fun driving around fields and tracks and the like in Edward II.

Not that anyone was hunting with dogs, perish the thought.

Might do it all again in about oh, 6 days or so.

|| [note || to self, get licence and shotgnu, since the authorities seem to want || us not to, and what more reason is needed?]

I hardly ever use my shotgnu* these days, and briefly considered selling it and relinquishing the licence, but then I thought "hang on, Tony Bliar and his metropolitan chums would approve of that." So I'm keeping it.

What exactly are the criteria for owning a shotgnu these day Richard?

The licence I assume being a GPL?

On or around Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:52:46 +1300, EMB enlightened us thusly:

I doubt it. They did make it very difficult for a while, but I think it's not too bad now unless you want exotica like multi-shot repeaters. You're allowed up to a 3-shot.

Hmmm. chap I knew years ago had a bolt-action Savage... wonder what happened to that, I think that was a 3-shot.

They seem to still be in business, which is nice to see.

Ian Rawlings uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Ian , dunno if you are sorted yet but we have a Combi boiler in our latest house--- it has a tap on one of the pipes for refilling the system... that took some finding I'll tell you!.. only a little thing like one of them you put a screw driver in to turn but a bit plusher as It's got a small plastic handle.

Thought it worth a mention.

Lee D

||| I hardly ever use my shotgnu* these days

|| What exactly are the criteria for owning a shotgnu these day Richard?

Can't say I know for definite. There used to be a requirement to show a genuine need for one, but I think that was scrapped a few years ago. Living where I do, we're surrounded by woods and farmland, so pigeons for the pot, controlling vermin, whatever, and everyone's got one anyway, so it wasn't an issue for me. I just applied, was inspected, and got the licence. They were more concerned about the security of my cabinet (which is a real belt'n'braces job) - once they saw I had taken care of that issue, it was plain sailing. I don't know how this would apply in your neck of the woods - not as easy, I would think. A lot of it is down to the local force's discretion, but there is a mechnism for appeal if you feel you are turned down for no good reason.

(Just remembered - you have to supply a medical certificate. Mine contained the word "depression" and I had to explain that one away to the dibbles. It was in a context like "the patient complained of a small depression in the back of his knee", but they were keen to know I wasn't going to buy one and top myself the next day.)

Why do you ask - worried about the Hayabusa? Don't blame you. :-)

Cheers Lee, I *think* it might be sorted, it's heating now with the only remaining issue being that the air vent valve that's above the pump tends to squirt out some water, so I've now routed the outlet from that through a pipe and into a bucket. Currently it's venting out about a cupful of water a day.

I refilled the system by hand using a hose fixed to a radiator bleed hole, once I'd filled it to the point at which the pump had water in it, it seemed to pump and refill itself fairly well if a tad noisily. It sounded like my guts after a heavy curry.

At any rate, it's now working well enough for me to leave it alone and think about getting a plumber in if I can find one who won't try to rip me off, plumbers, builders and car mechanics are all very low on my list of people who can be trusted!

On or around Wed, 27 Dec 2006 19:54:28 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

not sure, but "clay pigeon shooting" should cover it. Control of vermin was what I planned on using. I suppose that could cover scrotes intent on nicking yer bike, at that.

|| Control of || vermin was what I planned on using. I suppose that could cover || scrotes intent on nicking yer bike, at that.

That's an insult to rats.

Ian Rawlings uttered summat worrerz funny about:

It was a similar valve spluttering that led me to the tap.... though not before I'd bought a replacement valve. In our case the system is isolated from the water supply... when you vent the rads off the pressure dropped and I ended up with no pressure... then the boiler kicked in and muchum clunken. I thought it was the air valve sucking air in hence went to replace it. When I did I saw the tap... when the tap was turned on water pressure increased to 2 bar the system normaly sat at and all was well... every now and then after I've bled the radiators I tweak the tap and bring the pressure back up. sorted.

Never had any such tap on the older style system mind... just a header tank. No header tank here.

Lee D

On or around Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:17:33 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

I never said that scrotes were rats. they're a different species of vermin.