Joseph_Pestell

Just finished watching Australia Wales - did not expect that. All those years that we kept getting beaten by a few points with no wins at all. Now a 34 point margin. Are the Welsh forwards really that good or could the Aussies really be so weak?

I think that we have a sort of consensus here. Allow any country to try and qualify for the mens' World Cup but only have 16 teams in the finals rather than 20. The womens' game is at a different stage of development - just as it is for soccer. But the better womens' teams play a great game and are good to watch. I would hope that TV execs come back to supporting them.

It's a basic tenet of layout wiring that section breaks should never be at a baseboard joint. Any movement of rails (usually heat expansion) will lead to short circuits.

The women's games were well attended. Perhaps surprising in the macho world of Australia. I think that the TV rights issue was caused by the time difference, not any intrinsic lack of quality/interest, although it is true that France and England are much stronger than the other European nations.

I can agree with most of that. But why abandon the womens/ game?

All those dead badgers that you see on the roads have not been run over.

It's up and down this morning (and for some days). Some pages are loading quickly (normal almost instant rate), others are taking minutes.

I recently had to pay £100 per night (room only) in Llanelli. I think that would have been circa £75 if it were not that one of the five hotels is being used for so-called asylum seekers.

Strangely, Saxon English had a similar "R". Any place names with the suffix "-worth" or "-wade" derive from the saxon "wrde".

Newcastle United replica shirts seem to work well in all climates. Many years ago, I travelled on a delayed Palma to Gatwick in mid-December. Still above 18C when we left, -3C when we landed at 01.00.

One of my cousins is younger than his niece (eldest daughter of his eldest brother). They were in the same class at primary school. She, in turn had her first child quite young, so John was a great-uncle before he was 20. I am not sure at what age he became a great-great uncle but it was some years ago and he is still only 50 now.

Cleaner. I have my doubts. A good few years ago, I was on the footplate of 141R1126 when the fireman decided that the boiler tubes needed cleaning out. This is done by chucking a shovel full of sand into the firebox. The effect is quite spectacular as a thick black "smoke" ejected through the chimney. Certainly not appreciated by any householders nearby with washing on the line.

In Cascais (Portugal), there is a vegetarian restaurant/teashop that does spinach cake.

I think that we may be in danger of breaching RMWeb rujes.

It must be about 40 years since I saw a game like that. (Eng - Arg). Tough selection decisions ahead for Borthwick. A lot of folk saying that Argentina did not turn up. I would say that England did not let them in the first half. Second half Argentina did go into panic mode and gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties.

That was one amazing match. Rest of the competition may seem dull by comparison. I will try to find time to watch it again. So much to enjoy. The French at last have two hookers that can throw to the lineout. But that is much easier when the jumper is getting to such amazing heights. I did not notice any fuzziness of picture. But it would not be ITVs fault. They will be taking a feed from French TV company. I agree that all the scrums took far too long to set. That's Jaco Peiper for you, a fussy referee. Except, of course, when that might involve a straight put in. But generally, he had a very good game. A farce though for that last conversion. Assistant referees are taught that neither should raise a flag until they have agreed it between them.

A certain level of tolerance may be a good thing, if only for one's blood pressure.. But we have reached a situation here where such behaviour has become commonplace and has wrecked the quality of life in so much of the UK. From the photos posted by Jim, the roads there are completely inadequate to service a school, even a small one.

Tony, I am glad that things are going well within your local authority area. I really am. But that does not invalidate my original comment, which was not "wrong or inaccurate". Like you, I have worked in and with local government and I have seen so many instances of perverse decisions.

When living in the 5th arrondissement in Paris, I had two flatmates from the USA. Much of their was diverted via Paris, Texas. My mum, who was a very studious child, consumed reading biscuits (Huntley & Palmer's) with her books.

I am sorry if I have offended some engineering professionals. But some of those who have objected to my comment have then gone on to reinforce my point. The decision makers in Government (national and government) are bean-counters and politicians, not technically competent in building.

Thinking a bit further, there is perhaps a solution to this without complete rebuilding of structures. A modern equivalent of RAAC exists. But instead of having air bubbles, it has beads of expanded polystyrene, so water would not soak into it. Not easy stuff to use (static electricity?) and you have to be very aware about any loads put onto it. But it would impose minimal extra weight on other structural elements as compared to RAAC. I recall a local case, when I lived in France, where a vineyard owner asked the local builder to put in a floor using the stuff, supported initially by the existing timber floor. Some months later, the whole thing collapsed and the two, previously good friends who had been at school together, have not spoken since. They blame each other. I suspect that they are both to blame for not getting in a structural engineer to offer advice.

This is indeed good news. A lot of reporting recently about Oxford St having become shabby recently. The south side of the street has been like that for about 50 years.

Flat does not need to be boring. But I do endorse Robin's advice to avoid gradients. They will too steep in such a small space and not work well. Cyril (CJ) Freezer drew up a very satisfactory layout for 8' x 4', basically three simple oval tracks with pointwork to allow trains to change between them. The station platforms are down one of the long sides and the pointwork down the other. Agree with others that DC is much better to start with. If you later want DCC, you can just turn all the switches to ON.

The amphitheatre in Pula, Croatia is good example of Roman concrete. Well worth a visit.

No, stick with the old ones until a better method was found.