Puffer

I am overlooking the extraneous apostrophe in 'Americanism's' and 'journo's', Freddy - although the inclusion in the latter to aid clarity is understandable! But (If you will forgive me) that is an example of the type of elementary error that these so-called journos often make (along with 'debit from', 'bored of', 'different than' ........) Yes, a lot of material is written as if from a 14-year old (or, for those of my school era, 11-year olds) trying to be trendy. I don't think that having an English degree (specifically) is a requirement but, in any event, studying English beyond GCSE/O-level in this country is mostly about literature, not language, and whilst it should improve style, it will in theory add little or nothing to the fundamental (and essential) grammatical and syntactic skills. I had no university education (although my two professional qualifications, obtained by correspondence course, are each the equivalent of an honours degree) but both depend on effective communication, i.e. writing literately in 'good English' - the result of a good education at school (from teachers who were themselves literate) up to a good pass in O-level English Language. And continuing care in one's practical work, of course. Sorry, I'm beginning to preach! But I'm not ashamed to love the English language and to dislike seeing its abuse.

I forgave you the have/had confusion as it was clearly a typo and you are allowed ONE mistake, but appreciate you owning up. The tautology was the 'got[ten] round to getting'. I read the Daily Mail too (printed and online) but I'm not sure about any direct American 'policy' influence. But it does increasingly display poor English usage by (British) journalists who should know better - and to the extent that dubious Americanisms creep in regularly, I suppose you are right. Two recent examples: 'A substituted B' (rather than 'A replaced B') and 'They protested his appointment' (rather than 'protested against/protested about'). I do wonder whether its sub-editors (if they have any) ever 'gotten' a sound education at school?

Oh dear, Freddy! Transatlantic English ['gotten'] issuing from just north of London, tautology and a superfluous comma ... See me in my study after prayers. I suggest you have your Latin primer inside your trousers ('pants' if you insist) to reduce the impact of my cane.

Eu46 is UK 11-12, depending on the shoe style and maker. In a man's shoe, I normally wear a UK 11 or Eu45, but occasionally UK12 or Eu46 fits better. And the larger size would probably be necessary in a woman's style, even if width was not a problem.

By chance, I came across this seller on eBay today: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/iwantitsoibuyit/m.html?item=161582527244&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 There are some interesting styles there, and quite a lot of larger sizes up to Eu46! The buy-it-now prices are moderate too. I know nothing of this seller or its products ('Giaro'?), so caveat emptor (as we say in deepest Kent). Any feedback would of course be helpful. I would love to be able to wear these (but, although they are my size, I won't!), or see them being worn by a suitably presentable woman: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GIARO-SHOES-SILVER-UK11-11-5-EU46-EXTREME-HIGH-HEELS-SEXY-FETISH-STRAPPY-CD-TV-/161582527244?pt=UK_Women_s_Shoes&hash=item259f11b30c

Have you seen this thread: http://heels4men.net/topic/887-onlymaker-shoes-up-to-uk13/ I have no personal knowledge of this supplier but other reports seem favourable.

THanks, Tech. I think I've done what is needed - and gained a useful hour in the process! Time now 9.10GMT I reckon.

Coincidentally, I saw in the local paper yesterday an advert from a business doing plumbing/heating work that proclaimed 'If water and gas run through it, we do it'. I'm not sure I would like anyone who thinks that a pipe has (or should have) both water and gas running through it to interfere with my domestic set-up! (Cue to watch water coming out of the hob.)

Leaky donut washers are quite common, Heels. But easily fixed as you have found out, either by replacement with new or by removing and replacing (ensuring any squashy bits are ironed out if possible) with an added squirt of silicone if necessary. The donut concept is simple but in practice distortion can occur with a leak inevitable. Sometimes the squashy foam-type donut is better than the more rigid rubber ring. An alternative (less messy and readily removable) is adding a modest amount of Plumbers' Mate (non-setting mastic), which can be cleaned off with white spirit if necessary. Always make sure that anything fitted through the bottom of the cistern is tightly sealed too; another obvious place for leaks. A few years ago, I had a slight but persistent undetected leak from around a bottom-entry filling pipe and the drips went into the tiled floor joints and caused several tiles to lift (off a wooden floor, but correct adhesive had been used). I had to lift nearly all the tiles, remove all old adhesive (by grinding!) and replace - a lot of work which a tight cistern/pipe seal would have avoided. The Wickes Newport WC (otherwise a good and keenly-priced product) does suffer from donut leaks and I've found on both I've fitted recently that adding a little silicone is advisable. No, I'm not available for emergency call-outs ...!

Sorry, Freddy, I gave the wrong 'pump' link; this is better: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/condensate-pump-/181644590936?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item2a4adc7f58- but you might prefer the other item I found in the same quick search: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WOMENS-BALLET-PUMP-FLAT-SHOES-SIZE-8-WIDE-FIT-FLORAL-IDEAL-HOLIDAY-SUMMER-/331453121920?pt=UK_Women_s_Shoes&hash=item4d2c254580 There is a definite advantage in draining the condensate internally (e.g. to soil pipe) if possible as this avoids the risk of the pipe freezing, which stops boiler working. If the pipe is external, it must be well-lagged or have a heating element.

That looks a good price, Freddy - and with free filling loop too! But you must collect from Bradford, although no doubt can combine 'trip' with some shoe shopping (or vice versa if heels too high!). Magnaclean should be fine; I just preferred the all-brass Spirovent to other types. At the risk of teaching grandmother ... (but you might not have considered it yet), don't forget that boiler position is critical. It must be on or near outside wall so co-ax flue can go thru wall (at the right position, correct distance from any nearby windows, pipes, eaves etc). You must have an overflow (usual bent pipe draining onto wall outside is fine) and a discharge pipe for acidic condensate. The latter should run into soil pipe (or rainwater hopper at a pinch) or to proper soakaway, but not just allowed to trickle down a wall or roof. If necessary condensate must be pumped to a safe discharge point; pumps can be expensive (around £80 - 100) but I got a new 'Ideal' one for my flat on eBay for about £25 all-in. Here is one current bargain: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Drayton-Condensate-Pump-Freeflo-CF-301-boxed-unused-/261731091921?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item3cf06385d1 Good luck with the design and planning.

You should be able to get the 30kW for under £600 inc standard flue and VAT, especially if you pick it up. Mine was just under £500 in Feb 2013; collected from supplier in Sittingbourne (Kent). If you need flue extension, elbows etc (common to several Ideal boilers), they are usually available cheap on eBay, typically leftovers or unwanted parts. You would need also a filling loop, a Spirovent (or similar) dirt collector and a magnetic limescale remover - all again usually available on eBay or at the car boot sale! No real need for a built-in programmer to replace standard timer, and I've been perfectly happy with a cheapo room stat - but some prefer a full external (wireless) programmer.

In my own experience, a larger (30kW+) combi costs very little more than one of, say 24kW. As you know, it isn't the radiator output that matters so much as the peak HW demand if you want to fill a bath (or even run a shower) with a reasonable flow rate. My seaside flat has a Pro-Combi Exclusive 30kW; this heats up the rads in a matter of seconds and gives a good HW flow when needed. These boilers (24, 30, 35kW) are made by Ideal and well thought-of; they are cheaper however than the badged Ideal equivalents- and a lot cheaper than (say) Worcester Bosch. (And you don't have to go to Germany for an expensive replacement part if you accidently cook something!)

I sympathise, Freddy. Replacement keys are a total rip-off, especially if bought from main dealer or manufacturer. (Not the sort of 'high-yield' activity that appeals to me!) Some keys can however be cloned and/or reprogrammed from a readily available blank and the chips can be bought quite cheaply (if you know the right type!). My wife wasted money on a second key for her former Corsa; key was bought from a specialist garage for around £130 and worked, but set-off the alarm when used! And this was after paying main dealer £25 for the car's key code (never provided by seller of car). The garage refused to acknowledge any fault (apart from on the car!) and we then went to a mobile car locksmith (regularly used by our nearest garage) and he provided and reprogrammed a secondhand key for £50, which worked perfectly. My wife then bought a used BMW with only one key (get the picture?). Keys for these cars can only be supplied through main dealer so cost about £150 all-in. But the new style of key without a blade used by BMW and many others is allegedly open to illicit cloning, enabling car to be stolen. If crooks can get what amounts to a usable key simply, why can't the legit owner? It's just as well that my wife has little interest in shoes - her remaining pocket-money would scarcely run to anything more than Primark flipflops.

Thank you for the detailed explanation, Freddy. Enough material there to fill a DIY programme on TV, I think - or one on endurance! I had heard of 'copper cancer' but (mercifully) have never come across it knowingly in any of the 20 or so properties (mostly family) that I have done any significant work on over the years. I rarely find any defect in copper pipework that is not clearly down to poor installation or jointing (unless mechanically damaged). Indeed, I will happily re-use pipe removed during alterations, often somewhere else entirely, if it is sound (and some of the old stuff, usually 0.5", was thicker walled and of better quality than anything recently made). My golden rule when soldering is clean everything thoroughly (even if bright copper) and ensure that enough heat, flux and solder is applied - and clean-up afterwards to check the joint as well to remove any excess solder/flux. Yes, I will get the odd dry joint (usually from an undetected speck of dirt or grease that creeps in) but that can soon be remade. A good jointing compound (the silicone type, usually) is essential on all compression joins, and PTFE on all threaded joints I too have seen some pretty awful plumbing with adverse gradients and the like, as well as too much cut out of joists or walls. Let's be honest though: it is very difficult to avoid a few humps in pipework under the floor, and they don't really matter provided that (i) the floorboards etc are not compromised or the pipework itself left vulnerable to squashing or piercing; (ii) one can identify and deal with the low pockets of residual water when draining-down for a repair or alteration. I have never resorted to pipe-freezing but sometimes have had to heat up a 'wet' pipe quite significantly to boil out otherwise irremovable water before I can solder (which is another reason to consider push-fit or compression joints if all else fails). With waste plumbing, adverse gradients are another matter (apart from a trap of course) but I have seen attempts to make 1.5" sink waste pipes go uphill to a drain outside, with predictable results. If your house is of any reasonable size, I would not advocate a combi, especially if you already have the CH pump, zone valves, expansion tank etc in place, even if you are going to replumb throughout. Apart from anything else, as the CH and HW will be at mains pressure, any leaks will have a more serious effect. And your bath will take a time to fill, even with a larger combi - which is one of the main factors to consider when sizing the boiler. That said, I have installed combis in several flats, without problems. My latest (a seaside flat bought for family leisure, and just finished after a complete 4-year refurb from a shell) is above a shop and I will certainly know it if there are any leaks! Most of the underfloor pipework is in plastic (mainly because the previous owner had put it in as first-fix, albeit in the wrong places, and I dismantled and re-used accordingly) but copper used where necessary and for most CW and HW work, as well of course for the gas (which starts in 28mm as the run from meter to boiler is quite long and a supply to a hob branches off halfway). And don't forget some sort of scale reducer and magnetic particle filter if you want to maximise boiler life. I quite enjoy getting stuck-in to a plumbing job (grimy hands apart). Indeed, leaving it is usually a 'wrench'. Off to the Sussex coast tomorrow to fit chain-link dog-proof fencing at my younger son's new house. Might be fun in likely poor weather; we shall see.

I sympathise with your problem, Freddy, and its bad timing. I assume the 22mm pipe was copper; it is uncommon for such to leak (other than at an ill-made joint) in the absence of external damage, but presumably internal corrosion has taken place over a number of years, possibly triggered by an impurity or foreign matter. What did the damaged area look like? Or was the leak in fact from a fitting or joint rather than somewhere on a formed bend in the pipe itself? How did you effect a repair, e.g. by removing a whole section and joining each end? Did you use soldered couplings or what? When a leak in a pipe itself only affects a short straight length (say half an inch), it may be easiest to cut the pipe at that point and fit a coupling over the problem area. If there is little 'wiggle' room (lateral play), one can use a copper coupling with the central stop filed away to make a slip coupling and slid it onto one end of the pipe before pulling it back onto the other to bridge the cut/damage. Similarly, a longer bridging-piece with a coupling each end might be easier to fit in certain locations, or if damage is greater. Whilst I much prefer working in copper with soldered end-feed capillary fittings, I have grown to recognise the advantages of plastic pipe and/or fittings in some applications. Fitting a push-fit plastic coupling in an awkward location such as yours might have been easier - and safer too if soldering was likely to cause damage to the surroundings or is hampered by residual water in the pipe. Finally, I am puzzled that you had to empty both cisterns (tanks), at least completely. Were you not able just to shut-off the cold incoming supply and then drain enough from the hot cylinder to stop it gobbing over into the defective hot outlet pipe? (If not, then you have some pretty important valves missing - as I think you now realise!) Fingers crossed ... Puffer

I think that the sellers of high heels in larger sizes have two things in mind when advertising their wares as being suited to TVs, drag artists etc: (i) the belief that they will in fact reach the widest possible market by mentioning every type of potential customer (which, for the reasons stated already, is largely wasted effort, and may even be off-putting if a note of sleaze is implied); (ii) to make male purchasers feel a little more comfortable when doing the deal, and necessarily giving a name and address etc - which may well be helpful and encouraging to those who don't expect a stranger's sympathy and understanding when making such an 'unusual' purchase.

Sorry, Freddy, you are under a fallacious impression about VAT accounting. The simple rule is that, in a VAT-registered business and concerning anything bought or sold that is subject to VAT, it costs the business precisely nothing in terms of tax and there is no 'profit' either. Every VAT charge incurred on 'inputs' is recoverable from HMRC and every VAT charge on its 'outputs' (sales) is payable to HMRC. In practice, as you know, one is set against the other and the net amount for the relevant period is either paid over or recovered. It is perfectly possible for input tax to exceed output tax, if only temporarily, e.g. when a business starts up and buys lots of stock, plant, office equipment, stationery etc. (And someone selling zero-rated items such as books or most foodstuffs will be regularly in that situation, with VAT on its overheads recoverable but nothing to collect on sales.) Alternatively, a business selling standard-rated items may have little VAT to recover if it is selling from existing stock at minimal ongoing overhead cost. That might look like a temporary bonus, but don't forget that all VAT that one can recover is payable to the relevant suppliers sooner or later. In your example, you overlook the fact that the bags have to be paid for at some point. The business pays (ultimately) a net £50 for its bags, plus whatever the shoes cost (say £12 ex-VAT), and receives a net £20 for the shoes sold. If that is all that happens in a VAT period, then quite aside from the minimal profit of £7.95 (£20.00 - 12.00 - 5p), the business has a negative cashflow of £42, after VAT has been accounted for. The coffee shop has to account for all its VAT, including that incurred on giveaway cups, and is certainly not immune from making returns and possibly suffering penalties. I well remember when VAT started (April Fools Day,1973) and that the C&E booklets were about 1" thick in all whilst the leading practitioner's manual (De Voil on VAT) was a single loose-leaf volume less than 2" thick. Within a year or so, the material had doubled and has continued to grow expotentially. Retirement has its compensations ...

It's happening again! I just posted elsewhere at 23.41 GMT and time is showing as 00.41. Special HFM Winter Time with the clocks forward?? (It is now 23.44 by my sundial.)

It makes no difference to VAT or any other tax whether postage or other shipping cost is included or not in the selling price. If the seller is VAT-registered, it must charge VAT on both the item price and the shipping charge, i.e. whatever total amount is payable for the delivered item will include VAT. Although 'free shipping' may be attractive (even if it is simply an addition to the selling price), it often becomes excessive if two or more items are bought simultaneously and no allowance is made for the combined shipping. Likewise if separate shipping charges are quoted but are not discounted on multiple purchases (although many eBay sellers etc do discount). Many Amazon Marketplace deals are unattractive for this reason, e.g. a competitively priced item plus a reasonable (usually fixed) shipping charge becomes unattractive when two or more are bought and the full shipping charge is demanded on each of them.

And often it will not, or will purport to refuse to reimburse them. But the Distance Selling Regulations require otherwise where incorrect or defective goods are supplied - ALL costs should be refunded.

By chance, I came across the Onlymaker listings on the UK Amazon website; see: http://www.amazon.co...fix=onlym,shoes (Onlymaker does supply direct but Amazon seems a little cheaper and adds a veneer of respectability of the operation.) I wonder whether anyone has bought from this China-made range or has specific knowledge of the product quality, fit and service? There are some rather stylish shoes there (although little of interest to me) and prices (typically £35 - 50 plus £8.99 shipping) are reasonable, whilst the few reviews are generally favourable. Fit does not seem to be a problem, despite the Chinese source, and one cannot totally ignore any such shoes that go up to what seems to be a true UK13 (Eu46-47)! I note too that each item is allegedly made to order and can be customised - interesting but rather vague and possibly an area for misunderstanding. I note that returns can be sent to either US or Germany, neither at exactly trivial cost. Members shouild be aware that (as I have indicated elsewhere on this board), under the Distance Selling Regulations (which apply in all EU states), a full refund (including all outward and return shipping) MUST be given for anything wrongly supplied or defective. (Strictly, there should be an address in the purchaser's country for such returns.) That would include a situation where the sizing is clearly inaccurate, but not where the seller merely disliked the item, although the product price is still refundable in such cases if return is made promptly. From experience, Amazon is not brilliant initially at helping in a disputed situation of this kind involving its Marketplace sellers (e.g. if return shipping refund refused) but will respond to a firm demand, citing the law.

Let's see ... Yes it is ... thanks!

Yes indeed, Heels, you should demand a full refund of all outlay. It is not a bad idea when returning something for exchange to make a discreet mark (with ballpoint pen perhaps) in some inconspicuous place. Then, if it comes back again, you can readily tell.

I am in the UK and currently on BST (i.e. GMT+1), so why do my profile and messages show the time as being one hour earlier than reality. It is now about 08.47 locally (and nationally!) so see for yourselves.