Ruthi (borrowadog)

I think most parents would do the same. I went through it just before my wedding (got the all-clear 2 days before the event!) and told no-one other than OH. I haven't told the children at all. They've seen enough of my suffering - parents are for supporting the children, not the other way around. I would have told them if I did have cancer, of course!

I've just bought one, and its fab, but its on a leggy whirrier. It is waterproof all over, but of course if the water gets in behind the belly protector it will be wet inside. What I like about it is that it fits really well and doesn't slide about at the back end (leg straps if absolutely necessary but I haven't needed them. Am thinking of copying the design and getting one made that has a harness built in! Ruth

I'm so sorry, Alex

Yes. The salt will kill most tropical fish. There are a very few varieties that are OK in slightly salty water, but the amount of salt in your tap water will not be controllable enough to keep them. You need to use the water from your cold tap, and warm it up to the same temperature as the tank with kettle water. I used to find that one kettle full of water warmed up a bucket of water(but you need to test that!). You will also need to either stand it for 24 hours first to let the chlorine escape, or use special dechlorinator. The kind of fish that thrive in your local tap water will vary according to the area you live in. Your local fish shop will be able to advise you on that.

The Cinnamon Trust was set up to help the elderly keep their pets, and one of the services they offer is a rehoming service. If you join and register they guarantee to rehome your pet, or if its not suitable for rehoming for any reason they have two sanctuaries where the animals can live their lives out. They probably have more elderly people on their books than anyone else. They also provide support, through volunteers, to help keep pets with their owners. Anything from vet trips to walks. And they keep a list of pet friendly care homes too, where pets can go in with their owners. Because they deal with these issues all the time, I think they should be your first port of call. www.cinnamon.org.uk

Did you install the drivers for the Firewire to USB thingy? Try driverguide.com for the driver if you don't have a CD or instructions. It doesn't look to me from the laptop spec as if there is anywhere else that you could install a firewire port/adaptor. You could try writing to Compaq.

No-one could have given him greater love. Run free at the bridge, Ollie. Ruth

I have a Petpals franchise (well two now) and its been invaluable to me. The hardest thing with any business is the marketing, and they have that really well sorted. Their web page brings in more than half my customers(because they have the google thing sorted, and we are part of a large organisation), and the rest come via tried and tested routes. If you want to go it alone then you need to do all the classic things that come with starting up a business. Research the market, decide on your product and price, then market, market market. In addition to insurance you need to get CRB checked, and you may need to be licensed by your local authority. There are restrictions on professional dog walking on Ministry of Defence land and some other publicly owned land, and often local restrictions on how many dogs you can board at a time. Its getting harder all the time. Loads of people start up little dog walking businesses, but they fall by the wayside because its hard work and you need to have backup plans in place for when you are ill or on holiday. But its still the best thing I ever did.

I've had mine for about 10 years, it was the very first one on the market. Wouldn't be without it, before that I used a SAD lamp for about 2 hours a day, now I hardly ever need it! Because not only is it a nice way to wake up, but used regularly it resets your body clock by simulating dawn. Ruth

What is she like with dogs? Indoor or outdoor cat? I LOVE Bengals!

I don't think the rules are there to make judgements, so much as because if the patient continues to drink the transplant will almost certainly fail. So if there are limited resources, do we plough them into any old case, or do we use them for the cases most likely to succeed? Its not really to do with the value of the life, so much as the 'return on investment'. We as a society don't give the NHS enough money to give everyone the treatment they would like. So we force doctors to make difficult decisions on behalf of society. Every liver transplant means someone else doesn't get IVF, or doesn't get a life-prolonging cancer drug, or physiotherapy after an accident.... Until we face up to the fact of our unwillingness to pay for all that is medically possible, doctors will be forced to bring in apparently unfair rules.

I took part in the original trials about 12 years ago. Never got very far, I hated having them in my eyes having never worn normal lenses! However I did see the results of the trial and 98% of people failed to get on with them! They are much, much worse than normal lenses to get used to, and much worse than varifocal glasses (which I have worn happily all that time). With varifocal glasses it can take up to 3 weeks to adjust and stop feeling nauseous. With lenses it can take 3 months - hence most people giving up. Ex hubby wears lenses to correct his short-sightedness (which is very severe) and then varifocals as well to deal with the effects of old age.

I used to keep bees, and would love to do so again, especially as there is loads of heather hereabouts. But I haven't got anywhere suitable in the garden. I loved it, and rarely got stung. But the neighbours do get upset, even though, if you have a 6 foot fence, they are no more likely to get stung than anywhere else. In the end I gave up because my bees loved to do their business in the morning on Mrs Next-Door's freshly laundered washing. I had had an out-apiary (where you keep the bees somewhere else, usually on a friendly farmer's land, or in my case, at Harlow Car gardens) but it turns a quick job inspecting the hives into a whole afternoon, and in summer that has to be done every 10 days. I wouldn't use a plastic hive. You'll have condensation problems and unhappy bees. The wooden National on Crocus looks excellent value. WBC's (the 'traditional' white hives) are prettier, and pricier, but they are a fiddle to look after because there are effectively two hives, one inside the other. There is new research into different hive shapes to help combat varroa, which hadn't arrived when I was beekeeping. I'd investigate that before I started again.

Strictly speaking a dongle is any small device that plugs into a computer. In the old days there used to be serial or parallel dongles that prevented a programme working if they weren't plugged into the machine. Mrs B I think what you are talking about is mobile broadband. As far as I know all the mobile companies offer it. They give you a wireless dongle that goes into your laptop (or desktop if you wish) as part of the contract which enables you to plug into their invisible (via the mobile phone network) broadband network. Depending on how much you want to use this facility, you might find that a smartphone, which acts like a laptop, is the answer to your needs. Things like the Blackberry have a tiny qwerty keyboard and are fine for occasional email use and a bit of internet surfing. Or the ubiquitous iphone of course. On O2 you get unlimited surfing for your phone for £5/month on top of your normal contract. You'll need to work out whether its sensible to go to a contract. The assortment of deals is amazing.

The problem with taking cuttings now is finding non flowering shoots. As a general rule you can say that a flowering shoot will not root - its far more focussed on flowering. So its easier to take cuttings in the spring when the flower buds aren't formed yet. But if you hunt around the plant you should find a few bits that will take. Compost gives better plants, but rooting in water is much easier. If rooting in compost then make sure there is something over the pot to stop drying out, if rooting in water, when you plant it up keep the compost really wet for a week or so, then gradually dry off to the normal state of moisture.

Unless the solicitor can produce a receipt for the will, they have been negligent. Contact the Law Society.

go to www.moneysavingexpert.com to see price comparisons - the big names are all very expensive in comparison to the insured schemes that use local subcontractors. I've used both, and have to say there seems little difference between them.

I am assured that Big Cook, Little Cook is better, but to me they are all twaddle! Bring back playschool, I say! Be warned, some of the characters and stories are seriously scary. If you are 1 anyway! I am horrified by how my well-raised child, whose TV watching was strictly rationed and only allowed under adult supervision until he was at least 4, will sit his daughter in front of the telly, rather than make her wait while others have attention, or just take part in normal activities. I know she has no mobility (Spina Bifida) but that's not an excuse for filling her head with mush!! Rant over. Ruth

Solvit telescopic ramp, light, very strong (you never know what dog might end up in your household in the future), the rampy bit is carpeted for good grip. My only complaint is the price, but its worth it for the ease of use. Ruth

I've just had a renewal notice through. £314.25 from PBI, that's for up to 5 part time employees including me, and includes employer liability as well as the 'care and control' stuff and key insurance.

We charge £12 for a minimum 40 minute walk(but we are in the South East where prices are generally higher for services). that's 40 minutes of actual walk, transport, drying off etc don't count. We'll walk up to 4 dogs at a time, but it really depends on the dogs' needs how many we'll take out. They need to be well matched in temperament, activity level and sociability. I only ever have on dog on lead in a group - once we get to the woods or fields and they can be let off. Cuddles, games, treats etc are all included. Really it should be more about the experience for the dog than the exact time. Sometimes, if its really hot, for example, things can happen to make us decide on a shorter walk. But we'll do other stuff with the dogs to make sure they get the right level of input. Its usually their only break in a long lonely day, and we are aware of how precious that time is to them - even if they can't put it into those sort of words. On the other hand, if I have time and its a nice day, and the dogs are up for it, I'll go out with them for much longer. But I can't afford to pay my staff for that - so some will do it, some won't. In addition to insurance, CRB checking and references, you also need to think about training - especially first aid training. Will your walker know what to do in an emergency? Will they have the nouse to take the dog to the vet if the need arises, will they be able to call for help to get a large dog back if it collapses on the walk? And also how will you be affected if they are ill or on holiday? Most single-handed dog walkers don't have backup and you need to know how you will cope with that. A lot of our relatively high price goes on the backup facilities and the invisible stuff. Ruth

Not really very helpful, but the board is always slow for me. Compared to say, the Lurcherlink board, its snail-like. Sometimes its slower than others, but always its slow. Even in the middle of the night when popularity can't be the reason. To be honest, it has a lot to do with why I come here less, and post even less than that...

Well I was, but then after you said that I thought I would double-check and hooked it up to the computer, and lo and behold , it started up! Now it seems to be happy to work in the car too. How wierd is that? But I will get another van cable - or rather might try my old road angel usb cable which has the same fittings. So its not dead, but its still a bit flaky. But at least I don't have to rush out and buy one in a hurry now. FWIW my research showed that probably the best would have been Navman s700, except for the fact that you can't load the Pocket GPS speed camera database on to it, so I had settled on the widescreen Garmin nuvi with European maps for when we go to France (which is frequently, since DD lives there now).

I have a TomTom One XL, but its died and I am lost without it. I do go to lots of new addresses, and in the next few weeks its going to be more than usual. So although I could just print off maps, its easier, quicker, safer and less stressful to use a satnav. And it warns me about speed cameras. The question is which one to buy? I did like my Tomtom when it worked, but its been a temperamental little bugger, and reading reviews its not altogether unheard of. And their customer service is said to be awful. What do others have, and how do you feel about yours? Ruth