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In the garden, over the past few days: Fledgling Greater Spotted Woodpecker on the doorstep Another Mallard hen hatches 9 ducklings A couple of days later she’s down to 7

I’m lucky. For two of the three suppliers, I know what their birds eat, how they live, and how much forage they get, so I can be very confident as to what is likely to be in the eggs. They are from small flocks (<20 birds) as well, so I’m happy that they’re happy :emoji_thumbsup: [Edit: hmmm...

Exactly my point. Never anywhere near the disk itself in any circumstances.

Depends which side of the pads the AI recommends you grease, doesn’t it? A proportion of those needy enough to use AI for vehicle maintenance are likely to blindly follow whatever it suggests. Oil on belts is never a good idea. It might reduce an annoying squeak, but the belt won’t last long...

I only buy eggs from one or other of three smallholders / farmers in our village. But that gives me access to hens eggs from bantams up to large brown eggs, duck and turkey eggs. All of them freshly laid and cheap compared to the supermarkets. Food miles of between 400 and 1000 yards :) . Long...

They are riven or bandsawn (the horror :) ) to about 5mm thickness, and then thinned with a sharp drawknife to about 2mm overall, tapering even thinner at each end. The boards are supposed to be as evenly flat as possible to ensure uniformly smooth wet bending, but ‘near enough’ is thankfully...

Sussex Trug Making course at The Old Kennels, Stentwood, Dunkeswell. A quick review. Back in November 2025, I was looking for a hands-on woodworking craft course to extend my skills. I am on The Old Kennels’ mailing list, and had received one of their usual postings about upcoming courses. I...

I love ‘em, but my missus doesn’t. This year I’m growing around 15/16 plants for my own consumption. They are in good flower already so I’m hoping for a nice crop. In my childhood my mum used to cook baked (rather than steamed) bacon pudding, served with mash, boiled broad beans and parsley...

Our visiting Mallards have been successful in breeding again: There are 10 ducklings in this group, not all of them visible.

Get yerself along to a few rallies along with the rest of us greybeards! A few pints, camping out, and talking a load of bolleaux for a weekend is a very liberating and cathartic exercise ! :)

Absolutely! Petrol was quite cheap and the roads were deserted, so lots of two wheeled adventures and explorations for me :)

All stations to the west of Taunton seem to be ok. A few people filling approved containers, including me. Ten litres of SUL will keep our garden tools happy for a good few months!

Does nobody make an inflatable frame for a tarp? Light weight, collapsible, simple to operate. Not the toughest or stiffest, but quite possible…..?

Oh, and 20x 30litre tubs of potatoes, around the outside of the fruit cage. They’ve sprouted and will need a first earthing-up in a couple of weeks.

Hmmm, let me think.. In the fruit cage: raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, borage for the pollinators, broad beans, dwarf beans, mangetout, peas (various), lots of onions, strawberries in tubs (will get moved into the greenhouse so we get some, rather than the mice!), wild...

I’m not saying that none occur, just that the fact is that Government doesn’t find it necessary to record them in official statistics. The only non official figures I’ve seen are fewer than 10 people were killed in that way in the 10 years to 2021, or that 43 people were killed or seriously...

Neither the Police nor the wider Home Office record any data regarding death or injury by crossbow. See FOI request: https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/injuriesanddeathscausedbycrossbows If there was a significant number of injuries or deaths...

I don’t have one or access to one, but in the Government’s summary of responses at the top of this thread the overwhelming response from interested parties was to not introduce further legislation. But Government being Government they will probably push it through so they can ‘be seen to be...

Yes, but you’ve made my point for me. It’s not the item, it’s the person and their ill intent. Licensed, insured, qualified, restricted or even banned, people can and do use those items for harm. I don’t have or use a crossbow, but I do know many people who use and enjoy them as a shooting...

How about last night? A car rather than a lorry, but similar qualifications, safety checks etc required: https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/derby-friar-gate-car-incident-10891643 These incidents happen several times a year, and many more people are injured in each one compared to...