FastFreddy2

Did you go to Doncaster for The Gathering? (Of the Mallards.) To my regret, I did not. Until about 10 years ago, I believed the Mallard design was that of the Flying Scotsman. (Duh.) Lovely shaped engine.

"Overcharged" wasn't the phrase their Customer Service chappie used, it went more along the line of; "and you paid that much after the discount?" We paid £250 for ..... Pan and close coupled cistern. Which included siphon, filler/float valve, doughnut and two button plunger. Sink and pedestal Which included large monobloc tap with chromed tails, and push up waste. Set of matching monobloc bath taps. We paid a higher price because of the branding and the quality expected from it. Customer service was very good. We didn't have to go to B+Q, we got the refund from AS directly - and quickly. Pictures show the undersize hole, and the cant in it, that producing a float valve position which meant it touched the side of the cistern. I will try to ascertain the actual pressure before pursuing this.

When I get time, I'm expecting to get a bit fitter too through cycling. Wonderful form of exercise.

Historical experience suggests a meeting would be unlikely no-matter how much notice was given. As a general remark (one I've made a small number of times) men wearing heels are much more comfortable wearing them alone, at home, or in a car. Not that I would advocate a large gathering of men wearing heels in public as that might attract unwanted attention. (And has.) However, men who wear heels, mostly seem too busy elsewhere to indulge in meetings/social activity with other who share their ummm, hobby? I'm not having a 'dig' at anyone here either. A look over at HHp for UK meetings will draw the same conclusion. London is a big place, that many people travel to during the year. How often is there a meet of anyone in London? 3 times a year, Twice? Even once a year? If our interest was tattoo's or trains, we'd be meeting at least once a year with like-minded people.

The suite was from B+Q advertised as an 'end-of-range' discount bargain from Armitage Shanks. We got the money back for the toilet+cistern because it wasn't possible to use the cistern innards. The through-hole for the inlet was both under-size and tilted. It took 15 minutes and a cheap Chinese sourced diamond coated (core) drill to put that right. (After I got a refund. Nothing lost if I screwed it up.) When I spoke to the manufacturers, they expressed some surprise at how much I had paid for the suite ... Lesson learned? Buy the cheapest, and spend the difference making it work, rather than spending good money on a poor product and then spend even more money making it work. Reducing the flowrate won't affect the pressure. I am VERY appreciative of the mains pressure, and was another reason I was happy to get a 30kw boiler since poor pressure/flow-rate would have made the bigger boiler pointless otherwise. I've not seen the likes of it anywhere else. We must live 100 yards from a pump. Comes out of the taps like its attached to a fire hydrant. Turning the stop-cock to reduce the flow rate makes it very noisy too. while I agree the £20 for a PRV might be an avoidable expense, most of my 'experience' with plumbing has come with some cost attached. I'm almost certainly going to 'give it a go' to see what difference it makes.

You are right that insurance premium is mileage sensitive. Mine is set at 10,000 which is why I mention 10-10,000 miles made no difference. The car gets serviced once a year whether it likes it or not. I would prefer 6 monthly oil changes, but am too idle to do it twice (sadly). I know for sure, frequent oil changes improves the longevity of the engine. My car is front wheel drive, and often only has one occupant. The original front tyres lasted almost 34,000 miles. The back ones still look new-ish. The biggest two chunks of depreciation took place (i) when I drove it away from the garage, and (ii) while it sat in my garage -unused- for the first 16 months of its working life. In fact I'm pretty sure its "value" had dropped by 50% by the time I finally got around to driving it. While mileage does have an effect on value, it has low miles considering its age. Every additional 50 miles on the clock would remove an undefinable amount from its overall value. The 'fixed' running cost I forgot to mention, was MOT. At this time, I've not encountered any age/use related additional costs. Of course 'wear and tear' will be costing me money, but we are talking residual value since the purchase money was spent/lost at the point of purchase. Since I don't don't have the inclination to burden myself with concerns over cost of miles per set of tyres, nor cost of miles per set of brakes, and most other expenses are fixed, I use fuel costs as a guide. The difference between £1.06 per litre verses £1.46 per litre is more significant from the cost-per-mile point of view.

Today I finally fitted the sink from a cloakroom suite I bought 5 years ago. It wasn't a hard job. The plumbing had been completed a week or two ago. The mounting studs, maybe 2 years ago. The bug-bear was a canted pedestal (resolves by forming a fibreglass wedge on the base) and some poorly designed taps, with an even less well designed waste. I trial fitted the whole thing before 'fixing'. The fixing included some silicon blobs on the back of the basin to stop subsequent movement, especially if someone leant on it. The sink and pedestal were not made to live together, if their actual fit is anything to go by. The set (loo, sink and fittings) were not cheap, though were certainly overpriced .... I am a little older, and considerably wiser, I hope. So it all fitted. Tap flexi tails reached. The waste pipework reached. The pedestal was located in the right place (if such a place exists). Blobs of silicon on, the sink was offered up to the studs, and sat on the pedestal. Once levelled and the nuts done up on the studs, the sink was off the pedestal! Not that there was ever much contact, but now there was none. Not wanting to pull the studs out of the wall, or bend them, I've added some fibreglass pads between the sink and the pedestal for support. I'll add some hardening adhesive later, but I needed to support the sink somehow immediately. With everything in place and connected, I gave the taps and waste a run-through. The tap is pointed correctly and water bounces off the waste pop-up. Sadly, the cold water (mains) pressure is so high, I sprayed the WHOLE bathroom when I opened up the cold tap. Worried this pressure might force the press-fit connector off, I checked the flexi. Held secure, but seemed a little short? I hadn't left much excess on the supply pipe, but I was sure I'd left enough so I could 'wiggle' the flexi a little. Rather disappointed, I realised I'd made a mistake and would have to add some length to the pipe. As I drained down the cold supply, I concluded my planned trip to London was going to be postponed AGAIN. With the trip now off, I ordered up a mug of the house coffee, and took a break. Draining down the cold pipework didn't take long. Once I had drained it, I again had a little wiggle on the flexi, and it moved? It wasn't flapping around, but adding length to the copper supply pipe seemed almost pointless. I reconnected the open pipework, and re-pressurised the cold feed again. The flexi went rock hard, due to the water pressure. I probably need to make sure that Hep20 doesn't have a low pressure threshold for letting go, and I also need to check the pressure of our water supply? (Which might cost a little bit of money for equipment I don't currently own.) I've spent a small part of this evening, pricing up a "pressure reducing valve"... A side benefit of the pressure reduction would be to remove the opportunity for guests to cover themselves and the bathroom, with a lot of water. As I did twice. (I'd left the cold tap on when I drained it down. Got wet a second time.) As I say, if it was easy, someone else would be doing it.

Me neither, but they do roll up (inside) and don't look that bad. My problem is with the underwear. You can see every line, and I don't own any cami-knickers (he says both honestly and tongue-in-cheek) or any other underwear that would be discreet. Actually, I might own a very cheap version of some spanx. I will have to look. You cycle, and don't have a trim waist? Ah! Sweet tooth. Say no more.

I am about 25 miles from the West End, depending on my departure point. I have the benefit of a friend with a Blue Badge (I have mentioned before) so Congestion Charge and parking fees don't always influence a decision in the direction of public transport. If I live long enough to get a bus pass, I'm sure that will change. Even when I travel into London with Mrs Freddy, we would be 'landing' after 6.30pm weekdays/Saturday when parking is free, or Sunday when it is also free (in Westminster anyway). I've recently found a spot in Camden where Sunday parking doesn't produce a charge either, so I've been back there once or twice after a long absence. The two other places I frequent are Brent Cross, and Westfield. Both are a complete nightmare to get to using trains and the Underground. Parking is free at Brent Cross anyway, and is barely 30 minutes away by car. Parking in Westfield is prohibitively expensive on an hourly basis. The day rate is much better at around £8 weekdays. I do tend to price my journeys using marginal costing. Insurance/tax/maintenance costs the same whether I do 10 miles or 10,000. My car depreciates very little now as it's not that new. Consumables are mostly tyres, and fuel. I don't know what a 50 mile trip would cost against 2 off £60 tyres that will last 25-30,000 miles but it won't be much. Same with front brake pads. Almost all, though not all, of my homewards journeys are made in the late evening. A good night would have me home between 12 midnight and 1am. Using public transport at that time, if it were possible, would be fairly unattractive. A couple of years ago our family group of 4 used the trains/Underground system for trip into London because we got the benefit of a 4 for 2 deal, and it was a very good offer. I've also spotted a very attractive rail offer to go to Birmingham on a £15 return ticket. I've never been, and would like to. In heels of course. I can't remember why I didn't go, possibly I just forgot to take up the offer.

Ah! Always the way ... It was an offer so poor, even I didn't accept it. Decided to finish/complete the installation of the new bathroom sink. It is finished, but some trauma getting it thus, meant I was delayed enough to think the trip wasn't worthwhile. I'm still not sure if I have an ongoing problem with the cold water (mains) supply. More detail elsewhere. I'd be surprised if your friend works in anything upmarket in Stevenage. Knebworth maybe ... Hitchin possibly ...

Any good? Saw the trailer for it while my popcorn munching neighbour was playing with his phone ... Looked promising?

"Unlucky" is right. As my mother used to say; "If you'd didn't have bad luck, you'd have no luck at all". At the airport, for the first time ever, our hand luggage was weighed and found to be (a tad) over. We had to leave the queue to put some items in our check-in luggage. Back in the very very very long queue, we were going to miss booking in, but for someone recognising us from our first attempt and calling us forward. Passing the security to get onto the plane, we were called over and had to empty out hand-luggage for inspection. More delay ... When we explained the train journey, the luggage re-pack, and then being stopped for a security search (all putting our chances of boarding at risk) the fella took some sympathy on us and we were pushed into the front of the long queue for people to get "airside" of the terminal. To cap it all, we had 40 minutes sitting on the plane before we went anywhere. I've had a 6 and an 18 hour delay at Luton, and once when the fog was bad, a bus trip to Gatwick to get to France, so the 40 minute wait could have been (much) worse... As for 'making enough time', I never leave anything until the last minute as some do. I like UK airports, so always want to get there early. With the holiday journey, I'd even taken the trouble to phone BR to make sure our direct rail journey wasn't jeopardized by maintenance. That year Gatwick got onto my 'not-flying-from' list that still has only one name on it. Apparently things have improved. I'm not the only person with unpleasant experiences of the place, and it seems it has gained something of a reputation... As has Luton, but it's so close, I choose to ignore it.

Not having to drive does have great benefits, especially work related ones. Arriving after a long car journey can mean arriving tired and worn out. Travelling by train does pretty much take the 'stress' out of travelling though .... One year we elected to travel on holiday from Gatwick. We had the choice of 70 mile journey by car (mostly around the M25) or going by train. The train journey was most attractive because travelling from a station close by, meant a direct route to Gatwick. Simple, or so you'd think ... There had been some maintenance work going on in London, and some delays had been experienced for some considerable time on consecutive weekends. I rang the train company and was assured there normal service would run the day we were to travel. Our local train arrived, and we started our journey. Once we got to the main London terminal, we were decanted, to a bus! We had a slow, but mercifully short journey to another main station, where we again joined the train service. Instead of getting back onto what was effectively an express train, we were put on an 'all stations' train. By the time we got to Gatwick, my usually long nails had been bitten to the quick. (Metaphorically speaking.) We arrived with a little time in hand, so all was well, but it wasn't a journey that was good for my health. Looking back, that wasn't the worst part of that venture, rather it was the start to the worst outbound journey ever. I've a similar 'nail-biting' train journey reported >> here. << The link has been corrected.

If I'm going to watch a film in 2D, I'll do that at home. Cost has some to do with that, but the "cinema" experience doesn't work for me any longer. I will go see films at the cinema where there is some benefit to a huge screen, and possibly 3D. One of the best 3D films ever IMO was Avatar. I'm not sure film makers still use the 3D effects for sensationalism, as in arrows being fired into the audience, or spears being thrown at them. That said, the 'chase' scene in Jupiter Arising was pointless in 2D and could have been cut to a fraction of the time it lasted. It's a film where 3D was actually useful to give scenes obvious scale. I'm still a bit miffed I didn't see it in 3D.

Off to Londinium this afternoon. Been a long while coming. We will be 'taking tea' at John Lewis at some stage, all are welcome. I'm happy to get the hot drinks in for anyone who joins us. I don't expect to have to put my hand in my pockets though. Usually, attendance to these 'last minute meetings' has always been poor. Footwear will be a PU shoe-boot from Debenhams with a 4½ inch heel. Very wearable, comfortable, and easy to get on/off should I find myself tempted to try something on. Not that I do try much on these days. I've plenty enough shoes, but I can still be tempted ....

Your work must pay well. The costs of train travel are frightening. I had to travel to Newcastle by train some years ago. I think the return journey by rail was £180, even back then. It was cheaper to FLY to Edinburgh. One of the attractions for me to travel into London used to be the off-peak One Day Travelcard at circa £8. (Might have been £8-60.) A good price for the convenience of tube travel to get around London if more than one shop/mall/event was to be visited. That same ticket is now £18-50. For that money I can travel there twice using my car, and possibly 3 times using Mrs Freddy's car. Fortunately I don't have to be in London during the Mon-Sat daytime period, where parking fees would push me towards a train journey. I'm hoping "free" bus-passes are still around when I'm old enough to qualify. It's the one single redeeming aspect of getting older, as far as I can see.

The 'munching' problem is so bad (for me) I keep saying I'm not going back. Mrs Freddy has said she would buy me a home cinema system so we could watch films in the quiet of our own home, but I don't know 3D is available for home systems? There was a time when the worst noise heard in a cinema, was the popping of an ice cream tub during an intermission. Sounds good, except that it's so long ago, smoking was still allowed in the cinema. (In the circle seats - if I remember.) These days the cinema positively encourages noise, though food and drink sales. Sugary drinks, and for the most part sugary foods, not only increasing profits but doing it at the expense of the customer's health. I suppose the 'sugar high' making the viewing experience even more dramatic? During one of my previous moments of frustration, I did think to buy every ticket for one showing, and advertising it as a food/noise/phone free viewing of the film, so like-minded (grumpy) people like me could enjoy the film in silence. Anyone caught with a phone lighting up the place, or sucking a boiled sweet - out on their ear!

If you like a hot chocolate drink, as I do, I highly recommend trying the hot chocolate from "Paul's". A French outfit by all accounts, with patisserie expensive enough to be an extra special treat .... But their hot chocolate .... Like drinking liquid chocolate. You may have to add your own peppermint though.

Visited the cinema last night. Watched The Martian, in 3D .... Had it not been for the 3D aspect, it would have been another night in. Expecting the worst, we went and got tickets before the performance, picking seats toward the rear in the hope we'd be away from the core centre mass. We walked some of the way to the venue, so I could give myself some exercise in heels... I chose some cowboy boots with slim high shafts, that are both the closest thing I have to a fitted knee boot, and an acceptable man's cowboy boot. (No piccies at the moment.) While walking into the cinema, I spotted a fella who must of been at least 6'6", and a girlfriend who was close to 6ft. I remarked "I hope they are not seeing the same film as us", and laughed... Once seated, we were alone in our row .... Until this fella and a woman sat next to us.... Him with the largest carton of popcorn I've sever seen. (I don't get out much.) I expected munching throughout the whole of the 2h 20min film, (and I got 2 hrs worth). While watching the adverts, he had his phone laying on his armrest away from me, lighting up the back corner of the cinema. I leant over, and suggested the phone was "quite irritating". He replied that he "didn't need a lecture". My next remark might have been along the lines of 'act like a child, treated like a child' but Mrs Freddy got there first with "I'm not coming to the cinema with you again!" whispered loud enough for matey to hear - possibly. The film was good. If you get the chance, go see it. Visually stimulating, AND a good story. One little pleasant event .. About 20 minutes from the end of the film, matey knocked over his remaining popcorn, which sounded like there was still enough left to float a small ship .... When we got up to leave, I was expecting a little stress, but matey (it turned out) was a good bit shorter than me, and Mrs Freddy assured me his 'date' was probably his mum. I'd have put him in his early thirties, so not a school kid despite his behaviour. The walk from the cinema was quiet though cold. I'm sure one or two noticed my boots, but no-one would think them 'girlie' because they do look like men's cowboy boots. As long as you don't see the shaft that is.

I hope it wasn't Boss White, as these junctions also supplied the drinking water, and the product blurb suggests it isn't suitable. I'm sure it was Plumbers Mait. It was used inside the joints around the copper pipe, around the olives, and on all the threads. I did start to clean one of the fittings and then realised soldering a joint would be much quicker. While the PM might not be suitable for pressure joints, I would expect the compression joint takes care of 99.99% of the pressure, with several inches of PM (length of the thread) doing enough to counter the 0.01 potential that might otherwise cause the joint to weep. I've not heard of ochre crystals before. I have some citric acid that I think pretty much does the same job? That link for the jointing compund is useful, and I might give it a go. Historically I've used Fernox LS-X which I've found quite reliable if a tad pricey. Plumbers don't like it (they tell me) because it sets. That's half the reason I do like it. A 'plugged leak' stays plugged. I've a morbid fear - sometimes justified - of weeping compression joints. I've watched plumbers do them up with what looked like 60ft/lbs torque, and I have been amazed the threads were not stripped. I've started doing them up a bit tighter, (nothing like 60ft/lbs) but I still worry. Recently I had 3 or 4 goes at tightening a joint before it stopped weeping. I began to wonder how close to that 60ft/lbs I got with that particular joint .... Lastly, and for the record, I don't (and I doubt others would) think of you as a 'waffler'. While I have not been able to benefit from every bit of your practical advise, I've used what I can and I'm pleased for your support. For which I thank you. I don't know if you are still in a good place to chide me about my Americanisms though ....

Before I respond further, I'm going to have to have lie down. I am beyond shocked! Catatonic possibly. I may need to have an alcoholic drink, for medicinal purposes, of course...

The closest I can get to rum (since being ill on whisky and Bacardi) is Malibu, which I take with pineapple. I remember being at a soirée in a neighbours home. I drank a little too much, which is easy for me with Malibu. I popped home, talked to the big (avocado) telephone and went back to the gathering, only to drink more Malibu. That would have been circa 1988. My sweet tooth has a lot to answer for. Which is why I favour the sloe gin, over any other at this point, it's pleasantly sweet, and more of a liqueur. At least the brand I have seems to be. I've yet to taste the Old Tom variety. At the rate I drink spirits, it may be some time before I feel the need to buy ... We've an open bottle of chocolate liqueur here being used as a door stop. (We both like chocolate). Neither of us can remember how long it's been open ... 2 years possibly? We promised ourselves a little dribble in late night coffees. Never happened.

So ..... The mains stopcock was persuaded to work after the gland was loosened, with a little to-ing and fro-ing with the handle. It looked like it developed a leak (as with the upstairs routed pipework stop-cock before) but tighteneing the gland a little seemes to have cured this. Every joint I separated was held together "with lashings" of plumbers mait. Where I had planned/expected to re-use compression joints, they were too mucky (without hours of cleaning) to use after all. Consequently the shape of the finished pipework didn't quite resemble the expected finished routes. As a passing remark, there were NO working check valves anywhere. Even the one I thought to a check valve had a straight-though bore, that might have been a functional internal isolation valve some time ago. (Now 'frozen'.) The f'ing worn out monobloc taps, didn't want to leave. I snapped the tommy bar on the deep box spanner (not that it was deep enough anyway) trying to undo the nut on the stud retainer. I didn't have either with me, but the hole I had to work inside was too small to get a grinder or multi-tool inside ... For a short while, it really looked like I was going to have to cut the taps off the top of the sink ... Looking at the problem, I noticed there was an inch gap at the top of the partition between the sink unit, and the bay for the washing machine next to it. If I could get the washing machine out, I might be able to get a spanner in from the side. There was/is about 5mm of space either side of the machine, and I'm being optimistic with that number.... The machine didn't have wheels anyway, only adjustable legs. The floor hadn't been made to the back of the kitchen wall, only to around 6 inches from the front of the washing machine. Beyond that was concrete, loose tiles, and a dip in the floor level. Only shear desperation gave me the patience to wiggle/lift/tilt/wiggle/lift/tilt that machine out of it's hole. Eventually, I had access to the nut. Lot of good it did me initially... I got an adjustable on it, but I had to sit inside the suitcase sized crevice to hold/turn the tool, and the taps just rotated as I turned the spanner. I asked for help, and the lady of the house tried, but a six year old with good wrists would have been more use sadly. As luck would have it I also brought with me, a hacksaw blade with a handle. Looks like this: It wasn't going to be easy, but the final solution was to saw off the stud through the nut. Took around 15 minutes (several rests involved) ... but it worked. Once the mains 'manifold' type sub-assembly was completed, reassembly was fairly straight forward. Getting the right bits attached in the right order was tricky, but the ease of connection of the taps more than made up for it. At the time of writing, The mono is still prone to rotating. I tried tightening the clamp on the mono stud, but that only helped to push the rubber cushion out from under the clamp. The mono will come out quite easily now and the pipes disconnect REALLY easily, so I'm currently working on a Plan B. I don't know why these things don't come with some sort of 'centering' collar(s). The inside diameter of the anti-rotation ring/seal is exactly the same size as the mounting hole in the sink - which can't be seen when the taps are mounted. (I did draw guide lines, but they weren't very useful.) In fact I'm pretty sure I fell asleep thinking about what a stainless machined collar should look like. And while I'm at it (ranting) why a fixing stud off centre, and why a horse shoe shaped clamp? The finished (-ish) job. The washing machine has a non-return valve, the outside water a double check valve and new ¼ turn isolation valve. There's also an isolation valve in sight and accessible (as opposed to the stop-cock sitting hidden/behind the corner unit), for turning off the three outlets in case work needs to be carried out on the 'manifold'. The canted pipe is still canted .... But currently resting on a block of wood. I usually use plastic clamps, but both of the claps on the hot pipe came loose fairly quickly, and the cold pipework followed a vertical crack up the back wall. I may glue/stick/bond a chunk of wood to the back wall, and clamp the pipework to that, in a week or so. Epilogue. The home owner is in for some bad/expensive news. I noticed while repairing the silicone run on the tiled splashback, that water has gotten underneath the laminate on the worktop, where the sink wasn't completely siliconed into position. That or the stainless sink top has deformed over time. Anyway, the laminate has a small crack in it now, and ripples around one corner of the sink. Within a year, the worktops will need replacing.

Firstly, let me confirm I'm not a 'drinker' in any sense of the word ... Nor fortunately is anyone in my immediate family. When I was young, going to the pub was fairly normal, it still being an inexpensive place to go, The term 'Off License' had a meaning, and alcohol wasn't available 24/7. On a night out, I might start with a light and bitter, and because I was so small in stature, I then might have a whisky or two. A long night would involve 3 drinks, and an early morning do might end with a soft one. There were one or two occasions when more was consumed. but it took days to recover, and one such event means the smell of whisky still makes me 'gag'. That was a particularly bad one.... From my mid-twenties onward, the drink I've enjoyed the most, has been Dubonnet. While I can drink it 'neat', I tend to have with it with lemonade and ice, or suffer the room spinning after a couple of sips. (I know, "lightweight". ) While I can take or leave any other alcoholic drink, a Dubonnet is always regarded as a treat. Recently I discovered my drink of choice is also enjoyed by none other than HRH Elizabeth R. Seems her preference it to take it with some gin. Since I prefer that over whisky (gag) bacardi (gag - same reason), or vodka (tasteless), I thought I might try it too. I don't like 'dry' anything, I read up on gin and decided I would try some Old Toms which is supposed to be sweeter than the more popular London Dry. Thwarted by the lack of this option at my local retailers, I opted for some Sloe Gin. I had tried some home made Sloe gin many years ago, and really liked it. Having arrived home with bottle, it wasn't long before I tried it. Yummy! Bit like a sweet liqueur really. When mixed with Dubonnet and ice, It was so pleasant I nearly downed it in minutes. A little over an hour later, my glass was empty and so was my head.

Later today (Wednesday) is "P" day, where I get to get my plumbing mettle. I'm pretty certain it'll be a disaster one way or the other, but needs must. The taps need changing, and I have all the bits so it's gonna happen one way or the other. I'd have preferred to take the challenge after a good nights sleep, but a large panel of hard-board flooring needed some rework in readiness for the flooring man to do his bit tomorrow at the refurb' property I'm helping with. The landlord also missed an ammonia type live (still wet) stain, around the lower edge of the toilet. I started the repair at 12.30am, having spent the previous half hour cutting out pipe access on a panel for the nearly installed toilet sink ... If it was easy, someone else would be doing it ......