AndyID

Hi Jock, We get lots of them, and several different types too. Most are a bit smaller than those in California, and some are really tiny. I'll try to get a pic of one. Hummingbirds are quite common even in northern parts of the US. I think the one in the pic even migrates into parts of Alaska. We are about 100 miles south of Canada here, but we are at the same latitude as Dijon and Zurich. (Wick is further north than Juneau, Alaska.) Cheers! Andy

The hummingbirds are back.

The Boids Are Back in Town

Yes, but why the long face Jim?

Maybe more like this fellow? http://image2.findagrave.com/photos/2006/31/6440535_113881297049.jpg

Another doggie pic for Jock. (I don't recognize the old geezer.)

There's a great railway story in Milligans book about his wartime activities. It's about how they took a train mounted gun for a trip to the pub.

Did you happen to see Murray on Parkinson's show when he talked about the three trapeze artists (or maybe it was lawyers - can't really remember)? At the end of the story, Murray, dead pan, came out with, "Yes. Their names were Hunt, Lunt and Cunningham." I can still remember the look of sheer terror on Parkinson's face!

As long as it's not George with Drag on.

Robert, Are they a bit like these? A

We don't eat out much, but this is good place for special occasions. Interesting golf course too. http://www.cdaresort.com/discover

Have to phone MrsID with a wake-up call in an hour so she can start her 22 hour trek back from Scotland. Which also means I better get my rear-end in gear and get the place spruced up a bit!

You are either up very late, or very early. Hope you are not feeling too unwell. Silverline probably don't make anything - likely yet another outfit that imports stuff from Asia with their brand on it. Some of it might be OK, and some of it might be a load of complete carp. I bought a milling machine from a similar outfit in the US. Considering how little it cost me it's actually amazingly good. The finish isn't exactly perfect, but other than that, I've never found anything wrong with it.

What would you expect for five quid I'm pretty sure they are identical to the ones I have. The jaws are actually quite well hardened. Fine for NS rail, stainless and brass, but I wouldn't try anything much harder. The problem is you can exert a helluva lot of force with them, so anything too hard will banjax them. EDIT - missing word.

There seem to be quite a few with different names on them, but I suspect they all come out of the same factory in China. Mine have WISS on them. I can't remember where I bought them now. Might have been Ace H/W. I wouldn't try to cut anything very hard like piano wire with them. It would probably nick the edges. Cheers! Andy

Good catch Pete. They seem to be available in the UK too. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-CT20-Mini-Cutters-200mm/dp/B000LFTTXS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430787301&sr=8-1&keywords=mini+bolt+cutters I suppose they'd be quite handy for mini-burglars.

Bluebird day here, and 24C. Some views of "the hood" this evening. We bought this place 20 years ago, then we were in California from 2000 to 2006. People asked as why we didn't rent the house while we were away. We were fortunate that we didn't have to, but my response was always, "Because we want to move back into it when we retire." Renters can be OK, but I'd never want to move back into a house that had been rented. On the one occasion that we did let neighbors use the place, they didn't shut the water off properly or turn up the heating for the winter. Pipes froze and a part of the garage ceiling came down on top of my old Bronco! AndrewC's experience with his former satanic neighbors suggests that renting can be a very bad idea. The tree at the corner of the driveway is sometimes festooned with lights at Christmas. We tend to not bother with a tree inside the house. Seems a bit redundant. View from MrsID's greenhouse. and the dogs on sentry duty, although Shona seems to be taking it a bit easy. I think I need to get a new dog-tag for Torri. "Yes, you've been saying that for weeks!"

Yes - AndrewC told me how above somewhere. I have implemented the fix! Thanks Pete.

I was going to, but I thought better of it! However, it was a gal from Devizes.

Here you go ED. Antique compound loppers, but still good. Nice thing about them is all the pivots are adjustable nuts/bolts - no rivets. Unfortunately one of the wooden handles broke, so I made a temporary repair with aluminium tubing about 15 years ago. These are mini-bolt-cutters, also compound action. I use them for cutting NS rail. They are a lot kinder on the hands, and a lot less dramatic than side-cutters (no bits of rail flying into inaccessible areas under the railway). Also good for trimming small brass or mild-steel bolts, and not expensive either. Shona just had to get in on the act. "I'm ready for my close-up."

Not listening. La la la

Cool! Thanks very much Andrew. (Now I know why some people never respond to my posts

You mean they turned out to be carp?

I'm sure it was just another way of letting you know he thought you were golden. Yes, you can disable PMs from users, but I don't think it's possible to make their posts invisible too

I acquired one like that with a house. Never tried to use it, but I can remember my grandpa fixing a lead pipe with one. He heated it with one of those (blinking dangerous) brass blowlamps. Quite an artist he was with it too.