Dimron

Agreed but the loss of respect between individuals, age groups and cultures is staggering

https://www.abpi.org.uk/media/news/2025/june/uk-doubles-statutory-payment-rate-on-pharmaceutical-sales-from-july/

I understand there are many ripples in the pharma industry caused by the current government doubling the pay back to the NHS for new medicines... I know of site closures in Cambridge, London and Oxford. 800 highly educated employees laid off in the one I am familiar with... this is hardly growth politics

I have been involved in building maintenance for an international pharmaceutical for a good few years. I was gob-smacked when they started shutting down their main research campus in Oxford this year to relocate to Germany... I thought this was something we were supposedly developing for the future, less than 3 years ago I was there when the conservative Minister of State opened the new buildings

Maybe the bank balance really was worse then expected when Labour came in, as you say the GB News and Daily Mail would have crucified Labour for "their" financial mismanagement

I think what has done for the current PM and cabinet is the "we'll do it when we can afford it" mantra... Reeves has slavishly applied her unproven fiscal rules based purely on her hypothesis and stimmed change at the rate promised. We've been out looking at houses this afternoon (downsizing) and you would have loved the last one we looked at... the 70 odd year old couple were were still in the house when we arrived with the Agent with GB News on and fagging away... we got out of dodge pretty quickly.

Thatcher the milk snatcher

I actually own two elderly MGs So I'm on all this

Good point regarding weather. The biggest rot problem was where the missus placed planters onto the deck, I nave banned that. I give the decking planks a lathering of cuprinol every couple of years or so, the structure below appears to be holding it's own. But I still think its probably the best solution for Traff on "borrowed" land and pretty quick to boot

It'll cost yer 😛

Beautiful spot... sink some stubby posts into the ground, put some joists across, level it all up. postcrete, screw some decking down and crack open the G&T's 😃 Job's a goodun

Put these decks in 12 years ago on posts as I described, still rot free, one supports my home office on sloping ground

PS...if you do go that way, don't ask for "MoT", you can end up paying up to £30 per tonne for MoT Type 1... it's the stuff used on highways. just as for 2" clean stone

If it was me I'd strim it, give it a crude levelling making the sub base firm and lay a "Terram" geo-textile membrane over the top, I might cover with an inch or two of cheap gravel (20mm), depends on the budget. Can't see the point of a compacted stone base as I wouldn't recommend the decking sitting in direct contact with the ground because it'll rot. Then I'd puncture through for my stubby posts (treated 3x3) set in post-crete which will carry my joists fixed just above the top of the gravel for my decking, use timber lock screws with an impact driver. Try to find a timber yard where the farmers go, they will give you loads of advice and point you in the direction of decent contractor... this is my local one I always use, you might get some ideas from their site www.davidmussonfencing.com

We had our County Council elections last year. I voted Tory as our Local Councilor puts a shift in, always turns up at meetings and forums and was the only one to knock on the door, she told me she had spent every weekend over the last month door-knocking because she knew Reform were pitching in and she'd be "lost" without her councilor duties... local government should be a calling. She was thankfully re-elected. We did end up with Andrea Jenkins as mayor though, thankfully she has done eff-all except wear a sparkly frock and sing about insomnia.

I suspect the Greens are another party hi-jacked by an extreme ideologist

At the end of the day these are LOCAL GOVERNMENT elections and we vote on a local level for whoever we feel will represent our daily interests best, almost irrespective of parties. Nationalistic politics can F off along with Reform and Greens and whoever/whichever pillock is trying to rule the world for his/her self betterment... get them all up against the wall and move on is what I say

Wife loves playing pool I'm trying to watch the final session and alĺ I can hear is "double it"

Built the bathroom 12 years ago, the panel now has a hairline crack on the top edge but I need to remove it ocassionally to unblock the trap. I'm not touching anything anymore because I've dodged a bulllet from the missus... estate agent takes over this week. My FIL was a builder and would have bollocked me for not filling the bath but I have used a decent Dow Corning mastic

I collect tools... "all the gear and no idea" 😁 Two hours later... It'd taken Kev 20 minutes and he'd have used the back of a teaspoon. Her Who Must Be Obeyed is happy so it's a result 😀 Better that the previous mildew

Trouble is I have a mate who used to work for a tiling contractor and the missus always wants it just like Kev does it. Getting Kev around is like getting an appointment with the Pope as he doesn't actually like doing it so I need to ambush him. I have my gun, plastic silicon profile blocks, spray of soapy water, paper towel and I take a small chamfer off my nozzle after cutting it an an angle but it is never as good as Kev's.

Bath sealant... got some to do today, always looks like a dogs dinner when I do it

We looked at a house last week (downsizing) with coving in the living room... wifey said she didn't like it and it would be no problem for me to remove it... I inwardly groaned😒... more bags of easyfill

Been helping a pal doing up his late mum's house... can't believe the price of filler, 20 quid a bag for easyfill

Tell me about it... gave one a start on Monday moorning (he was on probation), Wednesday dinner time he did an armed robbery on the Post Office down the road!