Ian

I'm sorry to read your news but please do try not to worry about this. It may be difficult to watch at the moment / in the days ahead unfortunately but I think there will come a point when nature will take it's kindest course. Not quite the same illness but my Uncle died of lung cancer. His final 3 weeks were largely spent in what sounds like a similar state but the time did come (not having done so for days) that he opened his eyes for one last time and then a couple of hours later he slipped away naturally. May you each find peace and comfort in the days ahead.

He got six months (is that anything like our system meaning he'll serve about half of that too?) when prosecution wanted 6 years & he's appealing? He might just find that backfires & he gets longer. I wonder which University that Judge went to?

Can't say I'd get excited personally but nevertheless I don't think it necessarily sad either. Some may think it's a political statement / colour though, ha ha

Disgraceful that people are being shunned, shamed or otherwise abused for daring to have an opinion of their own - it's called democracy & is what millions lost their lives fighting for us to be able to enjoy. Though fortunately he survived it my own Grandad fought in the battle of the Somme when little more than a boy. I agree with you entirely on the vitriol aspect and the economy stabilising again. Nothing to do with his hair (& I haven't even seen his Dad's) nor his intelligence level but I just cant take Boris seriously or see him as a Prime Minister I'm afraid. As to Jeremy Corbyn I'm probably in the same camp as I am with David Cameron. He & Cameron together - Leaders who had roughly 2/3 of the votes cast between them at the last election (so around 44% of the country backing them between them before we started the campaign) failed to carry a majority of their own party supporters with them. Can he really expect anything other than to go? ........... and yet I fear any suggested replacement so far is probably going to be even worse for their party. I can't see either Tom Watson or Angela Eagle as the next Labour Leader, let alone PM. Tony Blair & even David Milliband are probably out of the picture so who is there to replace him credibly? I hope your symptoms prove far less serious than you've initially feared!

I'm not old enough to have had a say when we went in & yet old enough that I didn't expect to get another after chance after yesterday to offer a view if it went for remain. I thought it would be close, had a vague feeling it may narrowly go in Camerons favour but knew he'd go one way or another if it didn't. Whilst not his biggest fan I fear he's probably the best they have on offer, God help us all if Boris the buffon ends up running the Country & I'm no fan of Gove, May or Osbourne either. - but I still voted out. For me it should be a trading relationship - and I expect that to continue given that we buy more from them than we sell them - but not a case of being Governed by people we have no contact with & can't ever vote out or repeatedly baling out failing Eurozone countries when we aren't even in the Euro. We could spend that money on schools & hospitals. Whilst I have no problem with reasonable immigration levels we do also need to get them back under control - we aren't funding schools & hospitals & probably can't enough to cope with mass & increasing migration as the EU expands further. The pound had dipped but so what? The markets always panic - in 2008 the pound dipped - but before long everything reverts to normal again so I don't think it's as bad as they would have us believe

How sad. I didn't know her personally but do remember her posting. RIP Barbara

Happy Birthday, once you've got the call over at least we have the w/e - & apparently a sunny one - to look forward to.

Takes time but I used lots of saw dust - dug down 3 / 4 feet put some in soil, some more etc a few years ago - also some horse manure dug in to try & improve the soil, fork holes into it regularly etc. I've still not got there in terms of getting the grass resown well this year - dogs plus builders with a digger for next doors wall last year - but it's starting to come through & the soil is certainly a lot better than it used to be. Gardeners forum I took ideas from here http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/problem-solving/clay-soil-and-boggy-lawn/74423.html Good luck

Good for you. Don't have a big one really but I still look forward to the day I can join you in that.

Two things wrong with this in my opinion 1. Our electoral system - if you like a particular party or local MP then you have to vote for the other one too. Perhaps we ought to have two votes - one for who you want as an MP & one for who you want in Govt if they are at odds? 2. The Lib Dems could only gain so much & office by giving something to form a coalition. Turning against them surely hasn't made things better for those who originally wanted a Lib. Dem. Govt - it's made them far worse.

I think I'd be asking him to get round sharpish & sort it out or else expect to reduce your bill so that you can call someone else to do so. Going to be a wet w/e in many parts isn't it?

One of the local Councils is usually (liberals have twice managed to get in) labour the other tory - so unsurprisingly really no change today. I don't think anbody foresaw the overall result though. Feel sorry for Nick Clegg - helped the conservatives get in, he was the one pushing for raising tax allowances that somehow now seems to have become a tory idea & this is what he gets for it. Surely if people (& presumably they did) saw the coalition as a successful Govt then it was a joint effort not something that warranted the tories growing votes beyond their wildest hopes & the lib dems being slaughtered. Only good thing that I see coming out of the result is Nicola Sturgeon wont get to dictate events now as she'd hoped. On the downside I think Camerons Govt, for all he professes to want to help those who genuinely need it, has in reality unfairly targeted the poorer & more vulnerable in society rather than the purely lazy whilst the rich are getting richer & now they don't have the Lib Dems to apply the breaks I reckon it will get worse over the next 5 years.

Can't say I either look forward to or dread the result - it's happening & I have little faith in any of them actually doing or being able to do what they've claimed is as much as I can say. Most interesting bit will probably be to see who will now pair up with who (assuming it's a hung parliament as I expect it to be) Will Clegg stick by Cameron & if so will this be enough to maintain the last coalition Govt? Will Milliband do a deal with somebody after all - even if it isn't the SNP or will he sow some integrity and stand by his claim of no deals or bargaining his manifesto away & if so will this force another election? Could UKIP or even one of the others hold enough seats to force a new coalition? What was it Tony Blair promised us...... things can only get better!........... For a time they possibly did then he got stabbed in the back / quietly pushed out just as Margaret Thatcher did before him. So much for great leadership and loyalty amongst politicians!

Which petition to make co.s do so here http://www.which.co.uk/campaigns/mobile-phone-deals/?gclid=CPLbzpXkr8UCFQEFwwodCzIADQ Meanwhile is there anything here in the help & advice / apps from giffgaff that will help you do it yourself for free? https://giffgaff.com/unlock

Call centres! They are there for business convenience & costs not because they are ever any good at customer service.

Patio looks nice & the dogs / cat happy in there.

So, the song once said what a difference a day makes......and here we are 5 years on. I've always believe in getting people into work, helping them build their lives, lower taxes etc etc and yet I'm appalled by the way it's been / is going to be done if they get back in so I'm absolutely not wanting Cameron, Osbourne & Duncan Smith to be given another 5 years. If they've lost other people like me Cameron is going to be out - he couldn't win with us! However, I have little faith in Milliband - some of the things he saying re no deals - especially with the SNP - but still expecting to be PM are just ridiculous & he was part of the Brown Government that got us into this mess with the bankers. I don't believe that Clegg can or should win and am not a fan of coalition / compromise Government so what does it leave........ voting UKIP.....also unlikely to win, just not bothering? Damned if we do and damned if we don't it seems to me. Where is Richard Pryor (Brewster millions) when we need him? How has 5 years of this Government affected your views?

Alls well that ends well I guess. Isn't it an offence to have released the dog in the car park rather than waited for the dog wardens to turn up?

I'd largely agree with Snow though I think from what you say you've considered his wishes for a few years now and if you really miss having a dog should at least talk to him about what you really want. Perhaps it may be that if discussed this will prove more important to you than it is to him? If that's resolvable then I'm sure you can find a cat friendly dog out there and will have plenty of time to introduce them & see how they get on before finalising adoption etc. If you're set on a cavvie, cat tested etc etc then you may perhaps just have to wait and see when one comes along rather than have a set timescale in mind but hey you've waited 5 years now, so what's a few months here & there? Good luck with your discussions / search

I'm sorry to read of your latest news. Not quite as close as that but I have myself lost two within months of each other and can sympathise & perhaps empathise with how you may be feeling. I hope that this may bring you a comforting thought of them http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html

A strange place to write an article perhaps but I thought it interesting nevertheless. There has to be a better way than attempting to just ship ever more dogs from ever more places over here as more & more people seem to be doing. It's just not sustainable in my opinion.

I'm sorry to read of your loss. The house will be quiet, I know, I've found it that way even when losing one and still having another but in time I hope you will find that those tears are replaced by your happier memories of times together. RIP Barnum http://indigo.org/rainbow/

Quite an improvement there, well done!

Can't access FB on here but will do it when I can. Easy way for anybody to help a rescue really. Will it definitely end in a few days or be repeated again later perhaps? Pinky looks a proper little character to me.