Smiffy2

We need a "I saw what you did there" button.

Alonso - superb qualifying effort: "Alonso called the qualifying performance that put him into Q2 again "unbelievable", and he did his usual excellent job capitalising on others' struggles - this time Palmer and the Haas drivers in Q1. He reckoned the Honda engine was costing 2.5s on the straights, which would have meant a long and arduous race but for the ERS failure that forced him out before the start."

The drivers' performance rating, (and racing in general) is about a bit more than just overtaking...

Autosport's Scores on the Doors for Russia: Lewis Hamilton : 5 - I might give him 6 Valtteri Bottas : 9 Daniel Ricciardo : 8 Max Verstappen : 8 Sebastian Vettel : 9 Kimi Raikkonen : 8 Sergio Perez : 9 Esteban Ocon : 8 Lance Stroll : 6 Felipe Massa : 8 Stoffel Vandoorne : 7 Fernando Alonso : 9 Daniil Kvyatt : 7 Carlos Sainz : 7 Romain Grosjean : 3 - worst drive of the season so far Kevin Magnusson : 7 Niko Hulkenberg : 7 Jo Palmer : 4 - generous Marcus Ericsson : 7 Pascal Wehrlein : 6 Over the season so far, averaging the scores: Vettel 9.5 Alonso 9.3 Verstappen 9.0 Perez 8.5 Sainz 8.0 Hamilton 8.0 Bottas 7.8 Massa 7.8 Wehrlein 7.5 Ocon 7.5 Hulkenberg 7.3 Ricciardo 7.3 Grosjean 6.8 Giovanazzi 6.5 Raikkonen 6.5 Magnussen 6.5 Kvyat 6.5 Ericsson 6.0 Vandoorne 6.0 Stroll 5.3 Palmer 4.3

C'est de rigeur!

I thought it was a fascinating tactical race, and the last quarter was tense and mesmerising as the four leaders traded fastest laps. The swings in the gaps, although tiny, were exciting, especially when Vettel put in a real flyer and then Bottas messed up his braking and locked up. It also puts the championship into a new and rather intriguing position. Maybe it won't be a Ferrari walkover.

Ivan - my very best wishes, I hope the diagnosis is benign and the problem soon solved.

Well, I'm up, but that's because I haven't been to sleep (having dropped like a log last evening...) Cool here, as Bob says. We've not really had any trouble with the new rubbish collections, although like GDB I'm waiting for an extra green bin. It's made us even more strict about triage, and the food waste bins are a good idea. There's no reason why non-food waste has to be collected every week. Many locals are very exercised, however, and are 'protesting' by chucking their waste in the road (really) and putting the wrong things in the containers... Very mature. One person on the local Facebook group stated that her Fridays had been ruined, because the family always has takeaway on a Friday and it now takes her half an hour (yes, she said half an hour) to rinse the plastic containers under the tap before putting them in the appropriate bin... Had a nasty shock yesterday. As you may recall my oldest pal is Alan, who last year was very ill and had his bladder removed. Since then he's had a rough time and we've had problems getting to see him, he just seems in a bad place, and effectively he's sitting in the corner ignoring people. About 4pm I got a phone call from an ex-colleague of mine and Al's who now lives in France - she had seen on Facebook that another colleague had said he had been to 'Alan's funeral' - a different Alan as it turned out, but in the context of the past few weeks a bit of a stomach churner. Long chat with Al on the phone, he's just the same. But slightly offended that anyone cares enough to be upset at a false report of his demise. He's not in a good place, but then, why would he be? Governor's visit this afternoon, business meeting cancelled (chiz) and still getting crap being treasurer of the Governors' Forum. Also the war memorial. I'd rather be soldering my fingers to a bit of brass. Julie and I are getting to need our next trip out to France. It builds up, and we need a bit of time out in the wilds of la France profonde (which seems to have taken a turn for the sensible over the weekend - though our area went for Fillon, not Macron). I'll stop rambling now.

Dammit. Gout is back, and failed deliveries yesterday mean that I'm housebound, and will miss NESCOT. Have a good time, those who go.

School pranks: how about going round the (20s built) school, turning on the radiators and then removing the control handles, just a single screw in the middle? In the height of summer... I got the blame for that one, but it wasn't me. Honest. Boy called Fox. Or, over the course of a week, moving the books on the teacher's bookshelf - behind his head when he sat at his desk - forward by a few mm. When there was room, filling the space behind with half-full ⅓ pint milk bottles. Left in the heat. Mmm, that caseine smell! That one was me. He never let on that he found the bottles, but my friend Adrian found that a cheese sandwich had been mysteriously left in his locker over the summer holidays. Best though was when we enrolled a dog (Rosie Baker) onto the school roll, records and all, so that she (a red setter, of course) appeared on class lists, progressed through the school. Then, as Heads of House, we would tell teachers that they had missed her from the reports. Most told us she didn't exist but a few told us that she was a model pupil, well behaved and hard working... I also used to write letters to the school from a fictitious Malcolm Armsteen Trust. MA had won the lottery and was seeking places for his niece Myfanwy, who had 'issues'. He was offering £5000 for the extra fire insurance. Or letters from the legal form of Wimsloe, Spatchcock and Dibbs, in one case complaining that I had received injuries due to the quality of wine served at the staff barbecue, or in another case that a pupil had failed to achieve her coveted career as European Commissioner because she was inadequately taught the history of the Impressionists in Art. Or the Ofsted letters... It was, at one time, fun. Fosters - my uncle in Australia sent a case over c1965, when it was utterly unknown here. My father gave it to me. I still had the can opener - one of those that made a triangular hole - until recently. Feeling that sleep will be difficult tonight. Hope you have better luck.

Just got back with Daisy after the school run, and there's a letter on the mat. My excellent friend and neighbour in France, Claude Baglin, has been killed in an accident. Tragic. He was 61 and about to retire. I shall miss him greatly.

Further to the Billy Monger post above, he is now out of his induced coma and is 'positive' about his future. The Just Giving fund has raised over £600,000, with Jenson Button and Max Verstappen each donating £15k. Other drivers and teams have no doubt contributed. Tragic, though, that such a young man in a junior formula (think Formula Ford) should suffer such an injury.

Can I claim dibs on the stings? Five in two days, including one on the wossnames*. Got inside my dressing gown... Also one on the finger-end when I absentmindedly (alright, downright stupidly) tried to poke a wasp out of the end of the Hoover brush. We had a nest in the chimney, and I was hoovering them up there were so many... *That was the second time in my life I had experienced a testicle-related wasp incident**, the previous one being when I sat on a dozy wasp wearing said dressing gown. I also got stung on the botty when a child, but that was a bee, and when taking a trip to London Zoo I got a wasp inside my glasses and before I could get it out the sod stung me under the eye. I also put on a trainer that had a hornet in it. ** This one did have the advantage of getting me out of a lunch with some people for whom I held scant affection, indeed the stingy boybits were the preferable option. Stings? Don't ask me about stings. Not to belittle your experience, Peter, I have two friends who have to carry epi-pens. I think I am either lucky or I've built up a resistance. >edited not to sound quite so unfeeling towards other ERs<

My father had, and used one. He also had one that he used to burn a hole through the door frame for a doorbell. Heroic stuff! I had one of those, loved it, but left it behind when we moved...

Thanks, Don, it's the same style, made by Dremel. That's the sort of endorsement I wanted, using the torch to solder brass components.

My issues may be a carp soldering iron (though it's a Weller bought about a year ago) but also the arthritis, which means I have trouble holding the work against the iron. To saw the metal I have to clamp it to the bench pin. I think I'll take a punt. It's not that expensive. I was just wondering if anyone had used one and if it actually worked.

I used to have - this might have multi-usage to get past the spending rules... How about this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001DH7SP4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

I'm not wanting to spend a great deal - old timers did this with a 40W iron and a bit of tin...

Can I ask a question, please, and not get nutted by 'er? As I've said before, asking questions on the other threads can be a frustrating business, with answers like 'Well, I've got one that cost a million pounds so there' and 'You don't want to do that'. This isn't really modelling, it's about general DIY. Honest. The problem is my soldering. I've been trying to do a simple job - soldering a piece of brass channel to a small sheet to use as a loco footplate in one case, and the basis for a coach on another. I've really struggled, partly due to arthritis (holding down is tricky) and largely because I don't seem to be able to get enough heat into the joint to properly flow the solder. That's using a 40W Weller iron. When it comes to bigger bits I can see real problems coming up. Would I be better getting a mini torch as an alternative to buying yet another iron? I'm looking at the Dremel 2000-6. The benefits would seem to be a) heat and b) once pinned or clamped I'd be putting no pressure on the work. Any opinions, please?

As was my Uncle Dick!

If Honda have made no changes (they say they haven't) that rather points to quality control issues. Spare a thought and possibly a pound or two for Billy Monger. Just 17 he was competing in a Formula 4 meeting at Donington last weekend when he ran into the back of a stopped car on the circuit. His life was in danger for some time, and he has tragically lost both legs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-39647622 This is the Just Giving page set up to help him raise money to 'live a normal life' https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/billymonger23

Liberty said, at the first race, that they would relax the position on drivers and others posting material on social media, so he did. They subsequently changed their position. I find it hard to see Hamilton's fault in that, to be honest.

I call myself Smiffy 'cos Smudger (childhood nickname) was taken, Smiffy2 because I forgot the password for Smiffy... I didn't cover myself with glory, there, did I?

Morning all. A clear and sunny day here in the Surrey Riviera. There were reports of frost, but I was asleep, so it didn't really happen. Long but nice day yesterday with Daisy, and later Rose. Rose has now learned to run up to people and pull up her top and shout 'belly button' with the expectation that the unsuspecting adult will blow a big, wet raspberry in said location. She then laughs like a drain (she has a filthy laugh) and goes to the next adult. Of course, once she started Daisy wanted the same treatment, so three of us spent a little while doing that and crying with laughter. Daisy and I also had a long conversation about natural selection, encompassing kittens (we worked out that if every female cat had 150 kittens each within a short space of time there would be over five billion kittens in the UK) and Peppered Moths. We also wandered onto why birthdays cluster in certain months and I discovered that her understanding of human reproductive behaviour is quite sound. Then she made an anniversary card for her parents. So a weirdly normal day, really. After all that Julie and I went down to the local Thai restaurant as neither of us much felt like cooking. But I kept remembering Baz and his F&C and wanted some! It was very nice, though. Jamie - I am excited for you! One sadness, an old friend from work retired and moved out to France a few years ago with her dog, which is really her only companion. He's an old rescue dog, and it looks like he's nearing the end of his days, and she has that decision to make. I'm sure she will do it right, and she will find another canine companion, but the interim will be painful and she's quite isolated. I also booked our next two trips to France. We're hoping all is well there, as a local Brit family have had their house broken into whilst they were away. This is unheard of - people really don't lock their doors out in the countryside. The local word is that it was the English. There was a spate of metal thefts a couple of years ago, one family lost their gates and our mailbox was nicked. Nothing was ever proved, but the sons of a couple of local English builders were prime suspects. Have a nice day, all.

Our immediate neighbours are all dairy farmers or ex dairy farmers. They know which side of their pain has the beurre appellation controlée on it. Even the plumber wanted to know if Britain had gone mad whilst no-one was looking, and the lady in the garage spoke very contemptuously of Frexiteers.