Frederick

When is Gordon Brown going to realise that we know for years we have been fed nothing but bull sh1t by him and Tony Blair over everything their governement has touched since they came to power ..Nothing works properly immigration. health. education .Policeing you name it ..one cock up after ..they even had to fiddle starting a war....The sooner they just foxtrot oscar the better .........rant over !

The UK media is putting out stuff advising people to go on holiday to non euro destinations and avoid the USA for best value .....no standing in line for us in the ferry cafeteria this year then?

Having spent a long time in Australia last year touring about I found the wine was expensive the tax on it is the reason. i suspect their wine is cheaper for us to buy in the UK ...the decent stuff anyway As much as l like the country I chose to look at most of it from the air on 7 internal flights ...its too boring attempting to drive the distances involved getting around . My family in Australia have been cut off by floods ..seen roofs taken off in cyclones and overcome by the heat to the degree that they have been unable to function without expensive running aircon day and night Then the things that bite andsting and cockroaches big as matchboxes fly in.My wife grabs them in toilet paper and flushes them down the loo .personally I would just let them fly out again when they want to .You check the patio chairs when you sit down ...a spider might bite your bum ! Lovely palm lined beaches but nobody in the sea without wearing a stinger suit ..frightened to go in..We did not worry about sharks we were advised there were none ....the crocks had eaten them all !.....Its a lovely country alright ..but ..its not England in the sun .I prefer being in the UK and France now I am getting on and like my comfort . The Chinese are buying Australia at the moment the shares in mining and the huge farms in particular ..I would advise anybody to read The Australian newspaper on line to get a real picture if how the place runs ...and how dodgy the politicians are ....It is not like in the TV shows .... give you a week then wave a flag to decide where you spend the rest of your days ..life can be tough there ...

Just looked at a UK egg with the red best before information stamped on and there is a number in front of the "UK" so I assume the same codes apply in the UK and this is an EU wide system ?

Perhaps one of the chicken experts can help here ...My son got some ex battery hens which he kept in 5 star luxury and had plenty of eggs from them ...He was delighted to see them grow feathers back and having free run of the garden they looked fine ....They one by one developed illness and died the vet told him the chickens from battery farms are a breed that do not have the stamina to live outside he now has the black and white ones that apparently are tougher ....Is this correct ....not all breeds are suitable for an outdoor life ?

" Kevin" an aussie film about a guy whos has a job setting up portable toilets for events.....very funny

Hi Ben ...I am in Dorset and the moment and its freezing here .... I noted you were on the prom at les Sables in the sun and with Wooly running his dogs .probably on the grand plage at Croix.de Vie at the same time you have both pissed me off now !

I know nothing about looking after sick animals but would it not help to bandage up his paws for a few days ?

The forcasters say the next couple of weeks could show some really low temperatures with some snow on the way.... the worst for many years I remember 1962/63 Winchester by-pass was blocked and Poole harbour froze over ..As for global warming it appears the arctic ice is now getting thicker again . A real winter might be on its way do you think ?

Over the past few years we have read of the UK being called "Rip off Britain " "Threasure Island " etc because of the high prices we have had to suffer compared with others ...Items marked up for the UK in pounds when same company shows the item in same number of euros in their continental outlets when all the stuff is bought in Asia...I think a lot of firms have done very well in the past and now they might just have to accept lower profits in future if they do survive....no more Rip Off Britain for them I think ..

As for the fox ...wont be that many left for the hunt to chase round my way as the traffic given the number of squashed ones i see every day is keeping the pest down ....

Can they tell when you are still suffering from the night before ? thats what I need !

Well they wont be going to PC World...my PC has gone belly up and they have only knocked 13 quid off the sale price one i had by eye on so using the lap top now ....to see what bargaions are on line ...thats what a lot of people will be doing

Spain! they can keep it...I spent time in the winter on the Costa del Sol before they covered the hillsides with urbanisations It might be 19 degrees in winter and have plenty of golf courses but even that would never get me to swap my Vendee sleepy hollow place with them....Costa del Concrete it looks now ...

I believe many Brits living in Spain are also having a tough time and one guy with a bar who fell on hard times handed the keys over and fled back to the uk .I cant imagine what it must feel like to turn up on your kids doorstep and ask to be taken in as your planned retirement in the sun has ended up a disaster and you are homeless ...

Should you have small children to keep entertained up to Xmas day,and have not seen the North American Aerospace Defence Commands annual Xmas web site for children then just google " NORAD tracks santa ..". go to santas village click on the buildings

School down the lane has broken up today and a small boy with his pals has just walked past my house singing at the top of his voice " Jingle bells Jingle bells Santas on his sleigh Jingle bells Jingle bells Santas on his way " making it up as he goes along ..He is so excited...... I will follow his example time to forget the doom and gloom and enjoy Xmas...I intend to have a good one and wish you all an enjoyable Xmas and a Healthy New Year

I read today that the big booze outlets in Calais are having a bad time one ....Eastenders...stated they had half a dozen cars in their carpark instead of the 30 they normally would have had ...some drinks now cheaper in the UK

I use a Sony Cybershot 5 mega pixel..it also has a  long running video facility that is very good  should you want it .

When the car has got through the MOT !

Having driven through the New Forrest this week and noticed that the ponies ....and the cows.... that are turned out .... seem to have very thick and fluffy coats already ...are we in for a hard winter.?       Its got me thinking what are the signs in France now ?.... are the signs of a harsh winter showing already ?

No Just tight    !.....always look round the shed to find somthing to  fix stuff before parting with cash !

Can you take it out then perhaps cut the end off a finger on a rubber glove and then insert  it in the part making sure you have enough of the glove to make a seal when you sandwich the two together . and put back on ......I think I would give it a go.......... or  perhaps repair the split with a  cycle inner tube patch from a repair kit .?  

Crap / water in diesel fuel filter.?...you should be able to drain off the fuel filter water from under the filter bowl... .the filter should be changed after so many miles anyway......I would check this out first.....when was the last time you bought a new fuel filter ?  For diesels there is an additive that you put in the fuel tank that cleans out the injectors ......it pays to use that from time to time to keep the injectors from gumming up .....I run a Citroen diesel and regularly use the stuff ....there is a rubber bulb in the fuel line that you can squeese to prime the pump .....you could try and do this to force the pressure a bit if the light comes on again and you lose power  that just might help if its muck in the filter ..worth a try ...good luck

Radio 4 BBC item this morning ..........13.. treated in hospital for alchohol related problems.... poisoning etc ....EVERY DAY...... children !!!..... now thats frightening for a statistic ....and they said  if it was due to heroin there is a system in place to give support to the kids....but ...not alchohol .