figworthy

I only did that the once, and that was on an exhaust system. So long as I kept the vehicle, they'd replace any parts that failed. I got my moneys worth out of that, several times over. Adrian

In some cases, there is a good argument for keeping live ones out as well. Adrian

I was there, and a rather good show it was too. Given the amount of cake involved, I'm not sure mentioning it here in advance was a good idea, given certain regulars reputation where it is involved. I think it is now safe to mention that Lemon Drizzle Cake was available. Adrian

I had a bottle of IPA delivered by Royal Mail in a padded bag a a couple of years back. I'm guessing that the sender "forgot" that they weren't supposed to use RM for such things. Once in the bag, so long as it doesn't leak, I suspect that RM wouldn't be any the wiser. That of course does not make it right. Adrian

A pleasure to see Sheep Dip in the flesh for the first time. No criticism of the photos, but it really does look better in real life. Adrian

As a first time attendee, a big vote of thanks to Simon and Jerry for the organisation, Brian for the excellent chauffeuring (not easy with the surrounding roads), and to Kim and her team for the catering. Adrian

There is "Nimbyism" and then there is "Nimbyism". Back in the noughties, a planning proposal was put in for some land adjacent to Figworthy Manor. I was a relatively recent arrival at the time, but neighbours who had been there longer and knew the area well weren't happy. Apart from the usual range of objections (classic nimbyism if you like), there were more practical ones. The development went ahead, and the practical concerns were shown to be valid, in this case some properties started to get their gardens flooding in periods of heavy rain, something which hadn't happened before (fortunately not mine). The new properties were built uphill of us, and the land had previously soaked up the rain. So were the objections classic nimbyism, or were some of them genuine reasons ? Answers on a postcard to the usual address. Adrian

Thanks. I couldn't make out if that was track, a fence or some other form of feature. Adrian

Looking at that, am I correct in thinking that there is no northbound access coming out of the HS2 compound so that anything that wants to head towards Birmingham will have to reverse once it has joined HS2 ? Adrian

I use Oxford Parkway several times a year, and that has three large touch screen ticket machines (which I'm guessing are the sort of thing that we are expected to move to). I can't remember that last time that one of the "buttons" responded to the first or second "push", and they regularly have a staff member working one of the machines for customers as it is quicker than the customers doing it themselves. What I doubt any ticket machine could do is sell me a ticket (*) for a journey that I'd like to do at some future point (assuming I live long enough). A triangular journey. Local station to Brum, Brum to London via HS2, London to local station via GWR (or the other way around). I would hope that a ticket office would cope with that with ease. * I suspect that I'd have to buy three tickets, one at the start of each leg. Adrian

Many years ago, someone was telling me about a post wedding nosh that they'd been to. In due course the happy couple left, and shortly after that the assembled multitudes discovered that the bill for the meal hadn't been pre-paid, so they were left to pick up the tab. Adrian

There are those that say it's the only thing to look forward to. Adrian

It would be interesting to know how many of the 100,000 follow him because they believe him, and how many do it for a laugh. Adrian

Roy Clarke, writer of Last of the Summer Wine, reputedly based the characters on people living in a small town close to him. The locals there claimed to be able to work out who was based on who. I think we guessed one of them. Adrian

Or the ones who mis-read the timetable and get ready to leave too soon. Many years ago I was on a train into London that was was due in at a particular time. About 65 minutes before the scheduled arrival time, the two young ladies sat opposite me made a move for the door with their bags. It was perhaps just as well that by then, Kings Cross was the next stop. On the upside, they were rather noisy, so I had some peace and quite for the last hour of the journey. Adrian

Decades back, we used to work around the corner from the local fire station, the town also had a police station and ambulance station. Our faithful hound never batted an eyelid when anything left the town with sirens going, but anything coming back with sirens on was definitely not on the approved list, and he would spend 5 minutes letting us know about it. Adrian

Interesting, but one thing that it didn't mention was how the segments will get from the factory to the site. Adrian

In my case, it was our A level chemistry teacher. Adrian

Some time back I read somewhere that we were rapidly approaching the point where 40% of the value(*) of a new car was the electronics. I wouldn't be surprised if we are now past that point with infernal combustion cars. * the manufacturers view of the value, not necessarily that of the user. Adrian

I think bacon has returned a substantial number of lapsed omnivores to the their old ways. Adrian

A question arose on Test Match Special today, and it may be relevant to some regulars here. The question was : Which would you rather fight, 100 duck sized hippos or a hippo sized duck ? Adrian

Oddly enough, this came up in conversation last week. A mate of mine is a barrister, and he'd been called in to act for one of the parties when a burial at sea didn't go quite according to plan. It seems that the lady in question was committed to the deep, but a few days later the coffin resurfaced, complete with occupant. The local police (Hants ?) took an interest until such times as the circumstances were established, at which point they had another attempt (which I understand worked). It seems that there is a designated burial area off the Isle of Wight. Adrian

Looks like some one had been the @polybear school of decorating. Adrian

The Figworthy Quarry Company lives ! Adrian

You need to look for "Thunderbolt's Last Run". Adrian