alastairq

One suitable method for chillens might be, to supply, in the LF Test, around half a pint of the buffer fluid? In a larger container? The , when it is noticed the child's finger getting a good furtle up a nostril, grab the hand, dip the finger in the buffer liquid, swirl it around for a minute or so, before squeezing off surplus fluid, and instantly drying the finger before it gets licked. Then proceed with the test as for an adult? I notice with the newer Lateral Flow test kits, according to the instructions, it appears those being tested must don a pair of wellies first...??

Not only are badgers hairy [and have a very nasty bite]...but a badger-hair shaving brush an be very long lasting! I've had mne nearly 40-odd years now....I also have two replacements for it...which are old enough that the packaging they came in has disintegrated over time. I suspect my original badger brush will outlast me by a country mile? {No, I don't sport a beard!]

Showing my age, I always associated port [fatuously, as it turns out] with gout. Stilton, I associated with the clergy.[Angled, rather than t'uther lot] Stilton no longer agrees with me [ A fact if life I have generally become used to...there are not a lot of things in life who, or which, agree with me!] Black Bomber I find agreeable. As well as LIdl's finest Moustrap! As for alcohol? In my economically-simplified state I find less use for it. I have a half bottle of Asbach in the cupboard. Been there a good ten years, occasionally used to disinfect wounds, or in attempts to clean the drains... I find nowadays I need to do everything to keep my senses [Or do nothing which further befuddles them?] on an even keel. Even to shunning trips on waltzers!

Would you rather the Govt. were completely intransigent in their decisions instead? ''Rightly or wrongly, this is the way we're going!'' Or would it not be better that they are ready & willing to change direction, in the face of new, or cogent, argument ?

Goodness me! I turned the page to find posts so deep as to make my monitor display much smaller print! A Whig was a 'horse-thief.' A Tory was a 'papist outlaw'... According to those who wish ardently to divest themselves of jolly old England? Personally, I have never had a 'career' [ A tory concept? Certainly a middle-england concept?] . I simply had 'jobs.' Certainly I 'paid my way.' Sometimes I deliberately didn't, so to speak. I did the sort of work I personally enjoyed, rather than the sort of work that ensured profits for the greater good. I have never really been a 'property' owner, in the truest sense...all my apparent property-ownership has really just been another form of tenancy..in other words, I had mortgages, so didn't actually, [when it came down to it] own the property assigned to my care. Actually now, even though I rent my home from a [private] landlord, I actually 'own' more property than I ever did when I belonged to the mortgage-paying brigade. Own, as in, bought-&-paid for.....Rather than the pseudo-ownership that has bedevilled our society for much of the past 80 years. Or more? My last 'job' {IE, my bank account was regularly topped up from some unknown source]....meant I could, {aside from claiming as employment, my actual job description, } claim to be an real Civil Servant. In other words, received regular payment from the State [or the Crown, I could never decide which?]! Since I thoroughly enjoyed my 'work', considering t to be such an easy way of of life, doing stuff I really enjoyed doing, and having the opportunity to actually 'play' with stuff....[I looked forward every day to 'going to work,' rather than dreading the prospect of having to bang my head against the proverbial brick wall, yet again?}...that I frequently and openly voiced the view that I considered my 'employment' to be, at last, one Great Big Tax Refund! In other words, the State [Crown?] was paying back all that I had paid to it, for the previous 30 years. For what I saw as, very little effort on my part! [Oddly, those set above and around me [and under, as it happens], thought differently, and highly, of my leisurely days drawing money from the State/Crown/ pockets of the plebbist taxpayers. Although not very much from Amazon?] But I did indulge in one particular bout of brick-wall-bashing.....getting nowhere, despite involving the highest levels of State....so that , in the end, I did some sums, and then told 'em all to stuff it, I was off, they could do without my ministrations....and went! Happily for my colleagues I left behind, the powers-that-thought-they-were, acceded to my arguments, and promptly granted everything I had argued for.... I am now in the third stage of life [ #1, Childhood, #2,Work, #3,Pensionier} , although I have also reverted by to stage one in order to claim back what I think I might have missed? In the end it doesn't really matter who is flouncing around at the top of the tree, if one's quality of life is acceptable to one? I guess I'm half-a-whig at heart?

Nothing much has changed, then?

AM I right in thinking, the Tories were somewhat to the left of the Whigs?

The topic of proportional representation reared its ugly head whilst in conversation with one of next door's feral garage cats! A very laudable objective.....however...when I look at all those countries who do have PR.....I wonder how or why ? Nearly every government of a PR-voting State seems to be hamstrung for months & months on end, whilst endless bits of wheeling & dealing with very minority[often quite extremist?] political parties, goes on. Israel. Germany, & so on..? Which makes me wonder whether PR actually does work at all? Or, just most of the time? Or, just some of the time?? Every election seems to end up getting watered down to nothing, as those political groups with larger vote numbers, have to compromise & compormise until there's nowt left? The GB system, whilst in no way perfect, at least results in some form of continuous government. It doesn't result in many & frequent new elections simply because there aren't enough representatives of any one political colour to form government. I look at other countries with their unstable governments and wonder where it all goes wrong, this PR?

That, I believe, was called the ''Touring?'' I once had an 02. That colour as well. Actually, typically Germanic spartanism inside, much like the VWs of the day [1973, M reg]. Seats were that typically germans plasticky-mit-holes material...I noted old Mercs were similarly endowed.....Basic instruments, no wifi or anything remotely resembling ''connectivity'..aside from chrome bumpers { I still have one rear quarter bumper, not bad condition, in my stock of useless spares]... Plenty of oomph to keep ahead of prevailing traffic [early on this century]....it was a 2002....engine very fragile if overheated, would warp & blow the head gasket if one even mentioned ''hot water''.......... The [No3] ex wife managed to collect a small piece of stiff builders wire through the radiator...being more used to stouter engines she ignored the temp gauge, as she only had a few miles to get home....Thus the head gasket blew...a sod of a job to sort. Cost me just shy of 1500 quids with full mot....Sills were a bit lacy inside, but I sorted that jobbie out. It was our 'daily' for a year or so... But we needed something larger, or rather, two of them...so the BMW went!

.........and loss of hair?

I had a type 3 VW once [forgive me, it was yellow, never again!]...which came with a set of Trolleyborgs....very good in snow[but then it was an aircooled VW anyway]...

I understood the M&S marking [from my trialling antics] to be a symbol required by certain European countries to denote a 'winter' tyre? [Whether or not theat is a reality, isn't the issue] As for lumpy treads? I've got all sorts, including Michelin Taxi tyres, all have M&S on them, especially my ultra-cheap Chinese ditch-finders I use on my daily. [Never having had them find me a ditch, ever.] BTW, I have a cheapo daily because my insurance [classik insurance] for my oldies requires me to have an insured daily driver too. Plus, my son [dads taxi syndrome] isn't happy with all the attention folk seem to want to give to my oldies..he prefers to keep a low profile thanks! So I ''need' a cheapo daily [none of my oldies are in any way unreliable]....whether I like moderns or not.

Is there a correlation then, with the personalities and behaviours of said cats.... and one certain Adloff Hilter?

As KAty Kickstart points out above, in some cases damage can occur, simply because, by adding ethanol to the basic ingredients of petrol, the fuel mixture that enters the cylinder is weakened. A weak mixture can create high engine temps [and high exhaust temps, hence, overheating]. A weak mixture can also result in holes being burnt in pistons. As KAtyKickstart also says, modern ECU controlled engines adjust the fuel /air mixtures accordingly...but...not all of them do so, all of the time. As I myself have mentioned further up the thread, owners of old [technology] vehicles may find thy have to adjust their own mixtures to suit? Easily done with an SU carb or similar...not so easy on a fixed jet carburettor [unless, as I mentioned, one has access to the tiny numbered drills with which to open out main jets, and maybe emulsion tubes?] What E10 will do [once mixtures are adjusted] is make old designs of engine run more smoothly, at the sorts of revolutions used by drivers today, in traffic, or out for a ride. Up to this point, old vehicle drivers have usually only had the option of using premium grades of fuel to achieve the same result. {Because the ingredients in petrol sold these days are vastly different to what was used to make up petrol up until the 1960's or so.]

I do wonder what sort of result might ensue, had everybody else had the choice about the future of Scotland, instead?

I was referring to the 'social leanings' of the EU establishment , rather than the political leanings of parties within constituent EU members. As such, many stalwarts of the UK labour party [and movement, including one J Corbin, when younger]....back in the1970's and 1980's, were politically against sidling up to the EU, due to the Obvious political stance of the EU establishment [nothing to do with individual member's politics]..The EU most definitely had an anti-socialist stance. Personally, I think De Gaulle had it spot pon all those years when he blocked any attempts by the UK government to join his little club. Perhaps history was being learnt-from, back then, in that, for France, it was 'better' to have an independant GB upon which to rely, should elsewhere in Europe get above themselves?

I believe [kills pain?] there used to be a spray that one could, erm, spray{?} onto one's appropriate tyres to enhance grip in snow? I recall many years ago attending a race meeting at Donnington. A chum was racing his single seat Pre-wawer MG...[or rather, his wife was]....and he had fitted proper racing tyres [which weren't wide like modern stuffs]....They tyres had received some treatment [and heat, no doubt].... and when ready to use, placing my hand on the tread, I could feel the stickiness trying to pull my skin orff... Now, ice, is something else entirely. I prefer to ride on snow! The biggest boon when considering snow [or indeed, off-road at all] isn't how many, or which, wheels are driven.....but, [as has been said above], ground clearance. Once one runs out of ground clearance [even a Land Rover doesn't actually have all that much......one can bring a land rover to a halt with a small hole. Crossing a rutted track, incorrectly, for example?], once the suspension, or axle, of whatever, digs in, progress ceases. Cars of old [Ford Pops, for example or pre-wawer motors...or SAAB 96s]...with their spindly wheels, were competent on non-tarmac surfaces simply because they had decent ground clearance. I found the biggest help when confronted with snow drifts was, not forgetting to put one's big shovel in the boot!

I suspect much of that wasn't down to the ''actions'' of government, but the appropriate [or otherwise, as it might turn out] actions of individuals who were ''in command'' , on site, so to speak? Given the length of time it took to communicate back in those days, micro management by government wasn't easy....Much reliance was placed on the abilities of those in command, locally. Nowadays, if a lowly military person is confronted with a decision to be made, they can refer back to the highest authority in an instant. I believe today, management [whether military or otherwise] has descended into a policy of mediocrity. Actually not being risk-averse is seen as a 'bad thing'. Not that I blame management, which has been pushed towards that situation . I mean, why bother taking a risk, when lying low is rewarded? We all clamour for 'decisions', but in reality, we don't want decisions at all. In case they prove to be unsuitable. I must admit, when I first heard we were going to have a Referendum, my immediate reaction was....''AT LAST'' My next immediate fear was, were we not going to be asked the pertinent questions? [Which is why I dislike surveys! I know what my answers will be, but I don't get asked the right questions that enable me to give those answers. I dislike multi-choice assessments either...simply because, none of the answers I have to choose from are, in my opinion, the right answers...just someone else's idea of what might be 'right!']

Relative....to what?

Well, perhaps an 'indeed' is needed there? Not much in the preceding 36 years has convinced me my initial vote was wrong,either. Markets and trade are one thing. Political interference is something else entirely. What really does amuse me [it would amaze others, but merely amuses me!]....is the stance taken by Her Majesty's Opposition? Given how the EU, as an institution, was so completely in opposition to the basic views of the Labour party? But then I have long suspected the Labour party has become only slightly to the left of the staunch conservatives....only slightly....... As for political promises? To me, they are like marriage! In other words, very rare that they work out as intended!

I'm not sure either, how a percentage of ethanol in the fuel will ''damage'' a car's engine, either? I can accept ethanol may hasten failure of gaskets and materials in peripherals...but the engine itself? Only if one uses a fuel with an octane rating too low for the engine's compression ratio. I suspect manufacturers who have tried to save a few beans in production costs by using sub-optimal materials in the fuel system are covering their corporate rear-ends here?

At last, I have achieved success in my long & miserable life! I am [according to popular opinion] now a ''complete'' idiot! I think my one saving grace over the past half decade must have been, refusing to listen to any of the arguments...none of which got past my front door! Or convinced me, my long-held views needed modifying!

Got fed up with waiting, so went back home!

Cannot comment [hooray?] as I haven't been on a train for more than 15 years now.

Ethanol content? Fuel companies have to pay the Govt. a penalty fee {RTFO}, if they fail to add ethanol to the required percentage, pre-set percentages. It follows then that any petrol which is ethanol-free is likely to cost more than the same brand, with E5. Since the extra penalties for failing to include the required percentage ethanol are likely to be passed on to the customer, perhaps?