Danemouth

I keep a spreadsheet of my energy consumption and costs and always use my own figures when using comparison sites. This year has been interesting, had a new boiler fitted last July (condensing not combi, SWMBO wanted to keep the airing cupboard). The previous boiler was 35 years old and rated at 64% efficient - the new one is in the 90%+ efficiency range. OVO bills monthly so I am able to compare this year with last year - initially the boiler temperature was set where the engineer recommended 75C. Little by way of savings were identified in the first few months of the winter, the heating would go off as the hall thermostat reached temperature and the radiators and pipework would go cold, as the temperature then dropped the boiler would reheat it all from cold. So I turned the boiler down to 60C the house feels just as warm but I am using less gas and starting to see some of the claimed energy savings. My contract doesn't finish until 26th August so I will make my final decision at the end of this month and initiate the switch-over depending on the latest information then available. Many thanks for all your replies, Dave

Thanks Derek, OVO supplied as part of their reminder a schedule of their tariffs including rates for next year. I will be extra careful to compare new rates with their rates to ensure I am paying less! The OVO tariff increase for next year will result in me paying almost £200 more. I always go for fixed one year tariffs and make sure I never end up on the SVT. My real aim for next year to to keep paying the same as this year. Best regards, Dave

A couple of years ago following advice I received here I switched my dual fuel energy from Eon to Ovo and found them very good. However the current deal ends in August and the replacement deal will cost me about £200 p.a. more than I currently pay. So I've gone to Uswitch and found I can save by going to EDF (£251 saving on new OVO deal), back to Eon (£202) or a host of companies I've never heard of: One Select AVRO Energy Bulb Breeze Economy Energy and the list goes on! My gut reaction is to go back to Eon where I had good service for the eight years I was with them. I would be most appreciative of any advice or experiences my friends on RMWeb can offer, Many thanks, Dave

Agree Mike, I also find the ones in Sainsburys OK. The advantage of a self service till is that you can feed all that small change that inhabits the bottom of your pockets into it without feeling guilty. I do agree about the WHS tills - do they still try to flog you bars of chocolate and other "special offers"? Regards to you all, Dave

Ivan, I've stopped cleaning the inside of the car myself. In the car park of Asda there is one of the car cleaning outfits run by our Eastern European friends. A couple of weeks ago I had my Nissan Note washed and polished and the inside cleaned including the windows (upholstery was vacuumed not shampooed) for £35 I went and had a coffee in Asda whilst I waited. Regards, Dave

Talking about buying white goods on Tuesday I vacuumed the floors and emptied the Hoover, and then went out. When I came back SWMBO said the cleaner had started smoking and smelling when she used it - she put it on the patio just in case. I had a look and could see nothing obvious but in the light of recent appliance fires decided a replacement would be best, it was over ten years old. She picked a replacement via the Argos catalogue and I ordered it online to pay when I collected it. At 4 pm I had a text to say it was available and went to the local Sainsburys where there is an Argos counter. Job done and still lovely weather here, Best wishes to one and all, Dave

So this morning there I am reading the Daily Wail when a glance at the advert on the back of their "Weekend" magazine. "Bill the Flying Scotsman Bear" by Steiff a 10" standing teddy is available with "5 convenient monthly instalments" totalling £229 + P & P Hmmmm - I'm sticking with Jones the Steam on RMWeb thank you very much, Regards to one and all, Dave

Ian, I saw the same announcement this week. This will leave Sony as the sole maker of XQD cards unless somebody buys Lexar. Over the past couple of years Nikon has used these cards in their flagship D5 & D500 cameras - typical of them! Luckily my D600 use two SD slots, Regards, Dave

I remember my Mum cooking with it - I've never forgotten her coffee sponges. I also have a sense of deja-vu - I think we've had discussions about Camp Coffee on ERs before - I seem to remember making my comments in the past. Bests wishes from the capital city of the Principality where the weather is a trifle damp - we seem to have missed the heavy rain experienced elsewhere. Dave

A lesson I learned many moons ago, particularly on laptops. which is what I use, is never update the drivers unless there is a very compelling reason :yes: On my HP laptop I once allowed their device manager to bring things up to date and it managed to screw things up Royally! That tool was immediately disabled. However I make sure that Windows, Firefox and Thunderbird are kept up to date and the AV also updates properly. Dave

Tax Return done on line and a small refund is due to me :yes: I'm retired so very day is POETS day! Dave

Rick. I sympathise with you over the gout. I had a bout ten years ago. My doctor put me on 300mg Allopurinol - one tablet each morning. You can't go on the tablets while having a attack but once on them you can continue taking them if you suffer an attack. I've had the odd twinge since - when that happens I take Diflofenac Sodium tablets (prescription drug) for a couple of days which seems to shift it. Best wishes to al ERs. Dave

Reminds me of a second-hand car dealer on a nearby council estate - my mate reckoned his idea of preparing a car for sale was to empty the ashtrays! Dave

Went to Sainsburys this morning. On the way out the Guide Dogs for the Blind Charity were their thing asking people to sign direct debits and no, they were not allowed to collect cash donations. I really am sick of charities soliciting for direct debits, especially when I read in the Daily Wail about some of their tactics to increase your donation and Chief Execs salaries. Put a collecting tin under my nose and I am generous but forget it otherwise. I really am becoming an old f@rt! Dave

I live two stations beyond HH - Birchgrove, This line was double track as far as Whitchurch until the early 70s Incidentally the sign 40 45 - exactly what does that mean please? Dave

I opened my Powercab and taped over the contact for the Momentum button to prevent any damage to my SWD chipped locos. Have a look at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/89097-beware-nce-and-esu-momentum-idiosyncrasies/ Dave

TBH I've never got my head around blogs so my preference is always a thread in the layouts section. Dave

My first memory of him is the children's series "Ivanhoe" RIP

Peter, It's lovely to hear from you again and to know you are on the mend. That's a very impressive railway room being erected! Warmest Regards to you and Wendy, Dave

Some more info https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/05/23/warning-after-wannacry-sets-off-fake-bt-phishing-attack/ Dave

I use the same legs on Danemouth - got mine from Screwfix http://www.screwfix.com/p/height-adjustable-metal-trestle/6561p Dave

Until retirement I was an Information Security Manager for a small financial institution. My suspicion is the quality of the email and web gateways together with their anti-virus software. Those with good gateways e.g. blocking access to malicious sites, properly configured and up to date virus signatures would be better placed than those who took less care. The proper configuration of internet gateway firewalls is another factor. There are also other factors such as does the user logged into a computer have admin rights on that machine? Dave

Just a warning to you good folks to beware of this email - it's a scam. Clicking the Confirm link leads you to btinternet.eu which is doubtless going to cause you a great deal of hassle. I use Thunderbird for my emails which is set to ensure that it doesn't go and get the remote conent, much of which is pulled from the genuine BT site. Have a look at the senders email address and the grammar of the email. Surprisingly this email was not picked up as junk by BT's own filters - I moved it to the Junk folder. Dave

I'm not into buses but have really enjoyed this thread. The trouble is that I remember many of these type of buses shown being in service! It's nice to know so many have been preserved. Unfortunately there don't seem to be any shows of these vehicles in South Wales. Dave p.s. I have a soft spot for Cardiff Trolleybuses which I well remember.

The flaw is in Windows itself - Sever Message Block - not in Word The patch to stop this flaw was published in March for Windows 7, 8.1 and 10. According to the InfoSec press a version of the Patch has now been released for XP. Whilst the press have made much of the flaw in XP it does exist in later versions so make sure you are patched up to date. Dave