PhilJ W

Those figures should not be taken in isolation. I looked at the UK compared to Germany which showed similar figures with more babies in the UK than Germany. But both countries have an ageing population and Germany also has a shortage of care places for its senior citizens so in that context a greater birth-rate is not a bad thing.

Goodnight all.

That was posted on here last week

Unexpected visitor. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-essex-63090432

Unexpected visitor. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-essex-63090432

If you're (un)lucky the wildlife will get close to you. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-essex-63090432

I'd seriously think about changing my account to another bank if it was me.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. As I mentioned I had my annual eye test today. I was told years ago that I had cataracts but not to worry as they were not serious enough. Thankfully they haven't changed in all those years and as long as I protect my eyes from strong sunlight they should be OK.

The Beckton Alps, used to be the waste tip for the Beckton gas works. It probably contained all sorts of nasties chemical wise. They were removed not because of the pollution but because they found a (cheap) way of removing some of the more useful chemicals.

Quite so. When I worked in a payroll department we were only required to keep records for seven years so if anyone asks me for anything more than seven years ago they can whistle for it.

I wonder if freezing the battered item would do any good? My air fryer has a setting for frozen items such as chips. But there is always the danger of the centre of the item being undercooked or even raw. I've found this problem with some grilled items. This is where a microwave comes in useful, a couple of minutes in the microwave and its cooked through.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Not long back from the opticians and my annual eye test. Very little change from last year so no new specs required. When I was looking at dry fryers there was one with a self cleaning facility. You filled a special compartment with water and another small compartment with washing up liquid, press a button and hey presto in cleans, rinses and dries itself in about ten minutes and all that is required is emptying the waste container. Mind you its a huge machine about twice the size of a normal dry fryer and about five times the price.

Ever thought of wearing a kilt?

I pre-ordered an item from Rails of Sheffield and they sent me a message asking me to update my card* details so that they could process the order. This I did and the order was processed straight away. *Usual thing, old card expired and renewed.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis was busy last night so I only got a few hours sleep. Thanks GDB for the heads up about the dry fryer liners, I didn't know that such things existed, I've now ordered a pack of fifty. They are basically an enlarged cup cake paper, saves a lot of work cleaning the air fryer. Just a thought about disposing of them, once used they will be soaked in cooking oil so if you have a log burner they would make great firelighters.

Goodnight all.

I bet her boyfriend has a funny walk.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis woke up half an hour ago but Nurofen sent him back to sleep again. Now to tackle Farcebook.

And the bacon butties.

There's a few Sparrowhawks around here but with dozens of overfed feral pigeons around they tend to leave the smaller birds alone.

Giant puffball:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia_gigantea Mine are only about the size of a cricket ball but they can grow up to two feet in diameter.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. @DaveF's mention of fairy rings reminded me to check on the mushrooms sprouting in my garden. The good news is that they have grown a lot bigger and I can identify them as giant puffballs, safe to eat and tasty too. The bad news is that the wildlife has got there first and they are well nibbled, well I did say they were tasty. I used to have an ash tree in the garden but I had it removed when it got too big and the roots were spread out only a few inches below the lawn and this is where the fungi is growing. I checked on the air fryer situation and apparently they are selling fast. Something to do with them being cheaper to run as my one uses about the same power as my microwave.