Paul

.....wanders off to see what Google Chrome is..... Ah, didn't realise they were developing a browser, I'm still using Firefox but will give it a go later this evening. Thanks for info on the leccy and gas stuff Alex, looks like we'll be changing tomorrow, I'll have to settle the outstanding amounts with EDF before we can swap. RMF We are having a singalong to the 70s at 7 on VH1 Classic, both dogs have left the room

Who, the groom?

When I used to work in Italy next to the hotel was a dental surgery and their WLAN was unprotected, I used that all the time I was there for some free broadband and used MSN to call home every day using just the built in mic and my headphones on the lappy, it's amazing how much more you waffle when it isn't costing a quid a minute

I've just looked at their website and their prices seem very good, our last gas bill came down from £74 to £51 and the leccy from £202 to £196 so it could be worth moving the gas over to them. I notice though from reading MSE that they haven't put up their prices since April so I may loose the advantage if I move they up it. Are you tied into minimum contract periods with utility companies?

I wondered this too but I guess the information could be obtained using the FOI act? There must be thousands of dogs that don't make the official list, as you say greys and presumably many hundreds of foxhounds that are shot in the head once they are too slow to keep up with the hunt? I've just spent 30 minutes googling for a figure and found numerous reports of dogs being shot due to injury, killed on railway lines or drowned when they fell through ice, as best I can tell it's between 5000 to 10000 a year

They used an independant research company to obtain the figures, I assume by contacting all councils BBC news

Aldi have put in a planning application to open a store here by converting an empty and derelict warehouse, the council have deferred a decision until later this month for some reason. A couple of years ago Lidls applied to open a store on the site of a derelict foundry but were turned down as it didn't fit the local 'plan' what ever that is. Numerous rumours abound that Sainsbury put the pressure on them to reject it as the store would not only compete with them but it was about 200 yds away, with the current economic climate I think there will be a riot if they dare refuse Aldi. We go to Lidl in Brighton once a month and stock up, we couldn't care less if the packaging is in German or any other language, the food is great, they do a fantastic pre packed lasagna that I doubt you could make for the price. Most of it is so cheap it's worth taking a punt on to try it, if it's that bad it will be dinner for the dogs There are a few items we still buy that are known brands, Branston beans, Heinz ketchup and decent loo rolls We also try the basic ranges of most items at least once to see if they are worth getting, very few have been so bad we wouldn't get them again. I'm sure some people are relunctant to try the cheaper brands or shops as they are concerned about image, a form of shopping snobbery?

I use it quite a bit with friends were we use it mainly as a non instant messaging service for trivial stuff not worth ringing about and file transfers. Both Allison and I have it on our mobiles so we use it instead of SMS as it's free on my PAYG where as texts are 12p each.

Or wear the outfit you showed us last week and I don't suppose they'll care what you talk about

A small confession here, as we walked over from the terrier racing to the showjumping ring we spotted Glen and I may have said to Alli look at that poor collie in a bin liner

Some alternative recipes to try next time, if there is a next time LOL thanks both. I may have to buy a gasmask

We're back from Firle and had a nice relaxing afternoon even if it was a little damp, we met Nettie on the Gap stand and Meg made me out a liar by not being nervous at all The dog show was obviously rigged as Sans Glen didn't win most handsome dog, how did you get on in the other classes Sandra, we went and sat on the grass overlooking the ring but when it started raining we retreated to the car, Allison had only had about 2 hours sleep after work this morning and we thought her snoring might upset the dog show I felt like a trailhound salesman, had half a dozen people ask us what she was, lurcher, beagle, foxhound, mongrel and one of them wanted to know if she was neutured, that killed that conversation The terrier racing was organised chaos but hilarious to watch as the guy in charge wound the lure back and forwards along the run winding up 500 terriers It never ceases to amaze me how some people are so competitive in fun dog shows, we overheard one woman complaining that some of the entrants were sitting down during the judging

We aren't veggies and the dogs have raw so I'm used to chopping up meat but this turned my stomach, the texture of liquidised liver and egg even on the end of a spoon had me feeling queezy I'd like to try the less revolting liver treats recipe please Kathy It was baked for 20 minutes, I really wouldn't want to boil it Milly has the most 'woe is me' ears We are meant to be going to Firle today for the country fair and horse show, hopefully it will stop raining and thundering soon

Today, we have mostly been doing nuffink. And this is me noo barfroom, it used to be very blue with gold taps and paper'd walls and it had a big window at the end but that had to go for the shower. (please note in this one the loo seat in the correct position )

I 'ave just cooked me first liver and garlic cake for the hounds, I am now and The hounds on the other hand are drooling at the kitchen door. Holy crap it stinks

Has anyone seen yet? It's OK but I can't help thinking some numpty dog owner will try and mimic the see saw or fire hoop

It doesn't have to be bones, my brother went skating just the once, he'd been on the ice for about 2 minutes when he fell over and snapped off both his front teeth at the gum, he never went again, sadly this was long before the manky body parts thread.

I think the idea is the spare set are at home while you are outside the car where ever you've just stranded yourself. This smells of urban myth to me, keyfobs don't use audible tones to unlock cars that why you can't hear them, they use frequency shift keying, IE data manipulating an RF carrier and there's no way that can be relayed using a phone. If anyone says otherwise ask for a demo and make sure their mate isn't standing nearby with a spare set of keys

Us doggy peeps will be there on Sunday, look out for the trembling trailie with the tucked under tail

Look what I've just found on google

Blimey, I guess they need to pay this much to attract the right people? Head of fundraising & supporter services Based nr Horsham, West Sussex Closing date: 05 09 2008 Salary: £60,000 plus car and PRP As I have absolutely no idea what 'as well as deliver donor efficiencies in the area of acquisition and attrition' actually means in English I guess I won't be applying for it

Hi Alex According to Bob the pool is very big and scary and if anyone is in it the best thing to do is run away and watch from the back room This is the same dog that you can't keep out of the sea or river, aren't collies meant to be intelligent? Meg doesn't 'do' water, I guess they didn't have much of it on the fells of Cumbria

We also try not to use 084n numbers and have saynoto0870 as a toolbar bookmark. More and more people are getting free geographic number calls bundled with their ISP etc so anything other than 0800 costs money, we have unlimited 01 and 02 numbers anytime of the day for £5/month with $ky. As far as I know 084 numbers simply point to a geographic landline so you could have it on a dedicated landline or skype in/out account? Consumer direct list both because they recognise people have free geo number packages. On the other hand I did think about getting an 0870 number to give out to everyone other than friends so when the bank starts calling with one of those damn automated messages it earns us cash

Hi Mel, I'm pleased to report all parts of my body are intact and working as they should be, Bob has been keeping his teeth to himself of late I did notice the manky parts thread is now up around 60 pages long, I am most impressed, especially the Frankenstein effect of the stitched on thumb. Missus Squiggs, some photo's here, I should have added one of our new bathroom as I'm dead proud of it, oh and we've got some new chooks that clucky hatched herself, two at the moment, but soon to be one, one has turned out to be a boy

For Mrs Squiggs, some pics from this year. This is the pool just after we finished filling it, it's been landscaped a bit more now, the pool is 18x11x5, plenty enough for me to float about on on my lilo I've not got any recent ones of the Bob dog but here's one of him studying technique from the flyball at this years Crufts. Meg, last Sunday after spending the day at the trailie show This was our very first foster, a real sweetie called Brinley, he was only with us for a couple of weeks before heading off to London. Next along was Zack, he's grown into a beautiful lurcher and lives in leafy Surrey. This is Molly, she's a real scruff but adorable, she had this funny thing of frothing at the mouth in the car although she was quite happy to jump in it so I don't think it was nerves. I very nearly failed with Molly Finally there was Mitch, this was the hardest foster we did, it was soon apparent after his arrival that he was deaf. It started quite well and we were teaching him sign language but about a week in he started shadow chasing and it soon got out of hand. In the end we had to admit defeat, the hours we spent away in the morning meant he retreated into his silent chasing world even more but he was found a place at the Blue Cross and I'm pleased to say after a lot of hardwork he is finally up for rehoming. This pic was taken a few days after he arrived, he would lay like this for hours and would fall asleep hanging over my legs Not exactly a foster but Bert the lamb here was with us for a few days back in the spring. One afternoon I was walking the dogs up river and Meg started sniffing at something on the ground. Bert was cold, covered in mud and poo and tbh I thought he was dead. The flock were about half a mile away and it was obvious he had been left for dead so he ended up inside my fleece for the journey home. After a few quick phone calls a lady who sells animal feed offered me some colostrum and a teat and we ended up feeding him from a fosters bottle The local large animal practise vet offered to take a look at him and ended up cleaning a wound, stitching it and giving him a shot of antiBs, all FOC and after meeting us at his practise at 8pm on a Saturday! Anyway, by the Monday PM he was starting to stand and we ended up calling the RSPCA for some advise. It got a bit more interesting then because they knew the farmer (not good) and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to send Bert back to him. The only problem was they weren't sure if they could collect him as we'd moved him without a licence! oops, anyway, after explaining things to Defra they were given permission to collect him and he went to stay on a small holding over near Crawley.