And she'll be hoping her friend down the road doesn't claim too, or it will just be £200 each.

Either way, she's worth £400 more now, and lives near Warrington Park.

Pearl's a singer after seeing this draw page. Well done :-)

Perl's a great knitter? 😕

No she's a singer ;-) ;-)

Sorry Beth (or is it Jane? 😶), it's a common southern mistake to think Hadrian's Wall is on the border of England and Scotland. Actually it bisects England. Virtually the whole of Northumberland (my home county hence my gritted teeth) is north of the wall. On the east coast the Scottish border is 63 miles north of Hadrian's Wall.

P.S. Admittedly The Wall is a good place to ramble.

Ooooooooooooooooh you are awful.

Short answer yes & yes, but i still like you....

Sounds familiar.

Made me smile.

😂😂😂

:-) :-)

I haven't been a medium in a long time! 😜

Sorry Alley, I can't remember. It's a long time since I was a medium.

A drunken news reader in the pub.

What is social media?

:-)

🤣

Terrifying thought

😂

Thanks for the feedback. Tech will see it and will do something if they are able to.

Hi Marie - thanks! Got your email and see now that you've set in motion my refund. On the feedback form, I've suggested your tech people need to do something about so many emails ending up in your spam folder. I've seen it has happened many times before with other people trying to contact support. Hopefully, tech can do something about this to avoid customer frustration as much as possible.

Sorry about the issues with being able to purchase vouchers on Snip. We're looking into the issue with Propello, the company who help us run the site.

CarolineC, Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I've chased it and you should hear something today.

Yes, I'm also waiting for a reply to a query/complaint from them. When I tried to get a voucher for last week's supermarket shop it was telling me my membership had expired. But when I checked my bank account the £30 HAD gone out as it should have done. Waiting to hear back that they'll refund me as I'd decided not to renew anyway (too many places I used aren't on there so it's of no real value to me). I do want my £30 back though - may have to contact the credit card company if they don't reply to me soon. :-(

Perx have currently disabled the site.

I'll pass this on tomorrow as well.

I found it won’t do Amazon except on their insurance deals.

£50 me £75 MrJ.

£125 for me after two zero months. £250 for my OH. He doesn’t know yet.

£100

PBS me £175 OH £500.

Hey ho - £25 this month ..... still better than a poke in the eye 😉

Thanks Choc 😘

I've got my fingers, toes & eyes crossed for tomorrow. As Mr Million hasn't knocked on my door, I know I've not got a biggie ........ yet again 😔

@ Jaffa - https://www.nsandi.com/prize-checker/winners

Can't see it on the app though.

How do you see the big winners?I have the app but must be doing something wrong?

Ahhh, maybe I've jumped the gun! will take another look.

Oops, got it wrong! 🙄

As above, can check if, and how much, we've won tomorrow. Today you can see where the big winners live and the premium bond numbers, between £5000 and £1000000.

I thought June’s results weren’t available until after midnight tonight. My App shows results due on 2nd June. 🤔

Just £100 for me and £150 for him

No big prizes for me today.

A mutual friend still delivers leaflets daily (inc Asda), when he moved out of my premises we had to clear 3 wheeliebins full of undelivered leaflets. Nowadays he gets paid after they check the tracker he carries & phone a few people in that area.... Thus the posties were given the job,

I put all leaflets delivered straight in the recycling bin as no use to me, they could make their products cheaper instead..

My postie delivered some post and some advertising literature today. Included was a leaflet from ASDA offering £5 off if I spent £25 in store. I would be happy to take them up on this but unfortunately the offer period was from 18th May 2026 to 31st May 2026. I assume ASDA pays Royal Mail to deliver the leaflets but they are wasting their money if no-one can take advantage of the offer.

It's the delivering on time that's the problem. £1.90 to send a small sheet of paper and it takes a week is not acceptable. Receiving 14 items of much delayed mail once every blue moon is rubbish.

I guessed a similar reply would appear. Anyone would agree you can't have more than 100% although so many these days talk about giving more than that. Nevertheless, if they are supposed to deliver 100% of letters, then maybe they could carry on and deliver other items or do other work. My point wasn't really about that but more about doing what they're paid to do, not told when they arrive in the morning "just do 90% of your work and that will be fine".

@ A Nick Name

To use your example:

"Surely the target should be, for example, 110% then if they only reach 100% maybe it isn't so bad. I personally would still be ashamed if I was 10% below target even if I'd reached 100%."

I'm not sure how Royal Mail could deliver more than 100% of the mail that they receive.

Lol 63, that takes me back! I went to Euro Disney, as it was then, over 30 years ago and THAT ride was there then, playing THAT song!

Most annoying one I had was on a Kdrama - normally it's some kpop tune so easily ignored but this time it was a version of 'Stand By Your Man'. Totally ruined it for me!

I went to Disneyland Paris a few weeks ago and went on THAT ride with the little dolls and THAT song.

It doesn't go away!

You deserve a medal Mrs P.

Shyboy: That may be marginally better than the noise and repeated messages I had to listen to while waiting for an hour for a human at HMRC earlier!

The one I'm listening to at the moment on the DVLA phone line.

🐶 Wurms, did someone mention Wurms?

I don't want to think about an earworm.because then I'll be stuck with it 😂

Our local ice cream van plays a football theme, but I've always known it as a religious song which I sing in my head every time I hear it.

"Why don't you put your trust in Jesus and ask him to come in,

Why don't you take him as your Saviour who died to save your sins,

For he will strengthen and protect you and take you by the hand,

He'll watch over and He'll guide you till you reach the promised land.

Just had to search for it, to remember it was Match of the Day.

Some of those damned ads are pretty mind-numbing but they are current. ‘Power to the People ‘ the Ever-Ready batteries theme hangs around in my mind, but I don’t mind it. ‘Oldest Swinger in Town’ is often drifting in and out too.

Subtle!

😁x 2

😂

Yes - very funny both.

Can see what you done there Chris 👏👏

My type of humour, very good.

:-) :-)

😅

That's really funny, Kenny. Thank you for sharing with us and I nhope that one day you'll contribute again.

p.s. :)

Ha ha, with some added sarcasm 🤣

You can look up past winning postcodes (or partial postcodes) here: https://pickmypostcode.com/past-winners/ (this is linked at the bottom of every page as ‘Winners Results’)

You can also check winners in your area here: https://pickmypostcode.com/winners-map/

She's currently hosting " Mum's Net Curtains" a talk show about window decor.

Chris. I don't believe everyone goes to the Mumsnet forum to ask questions. You could try it I suppose although I don't know if she's still on there.

Doubletoast - for roughly thirty years now, most websites have included a FAQ page which provides the answers to, erm, frequently asked questions.

I know that in this era of everyone relying on social media for accurate information about everything, nobody bothers getting advice from official sources (I mean, it's far better to ask Lazymum123 what time the buses are than to go to the bus company's site?) but the FAQ pages do serve a purpose. I suggest you use them.

In the big blue boxes at the top of each of 3 of the pages, Main. Survey and Video, several twice a day on the Stackpot page, and up to 3 on the Bonus Draw page dependent on your qualifying amounts. Also one at the foot of every page from 6pm to 2am.

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/16-what-are-the-different-draws

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/13-what-time-are-the-draws

...you little tease.

Come and see…😈

A straitjacket ? How are you finding time for bondage games Beth?

Well, that has all given me a big smile for this afternoon. Loved the poem too.

All hard work but I can't stop laughing.

My dog would prefer a bucket of dirty rain water than a nice warm bath. It’s like fighting with Tyson .

😀

I’m going to have a severe conversation with Indi about this hippo she must have mated with.

Very good poem, but i laughed out loud at the antics"sorry Beth". The phrase"down and dirty" comes to mind ;-)

Never a dull moment, always something for mum to do. Let sleeping dogs lie. LOL & good poem.

So did I CS, loved the poem though.

Oh dear! Quite embarrassing to say one laughed at the images in one's head (but I did!) 🤣🤣🤣

You had to do it, didn’t you… the little ratbags have just galloped in, fighting and rolling around - and Storm’s damned well fallen in the pond again! No longer black, he was thick brown sludge all over, just a bit of black on his head, green ears, duckweed all over him. I got a bucket of water from the outside tap, scrubbing brush and started on him, only to see Shadow just as bad! Two dogs in the shower, Storm loved it but Shadow not impressed, so what with wrestling him back into place, with Storm happily lying down and rolling over, water going everywhere, my nice white shower full of dog hair, sludge, mud shaken everywhere, the doors, walls, side of the chair and sideboard, and a huge brown sludge mark on the carpet that I cleaned a few hours ago. They are going to be upgraded from termites to Tasmanian Devils, I think. I am filthy too, had to get my old flannel to clean the shower as the only thing handy so that’s in the washing basket, my clothes will have to be washed tonight… Shadow is now on my bed (there is a nice cosy throw so he can finish drying off and keep warm). Storm is back on my lap again. Where’s the b* vodka?

(Actually, I thought the poem was very good - timing could have been better!)

Now you stop that RIGHT NOW! If there’s one thing they don’t need it’s any incentives, suggestions or egging on. I will probably end up in a straitjacket as it is, and I might just bequeath them to you in my will, so think on! 😊

Young Shadow has swallowed a whole pair of socks,

While Storm is out back digging holes near the rocks.

They spy a deep puddle and dive in headfirst,

Then shake off the mud till the bubbles have burst.

They steal all the biscuits right out of the plate,

And ambush the postman right at the front gate.

But Shadow and Storm know the tricks of the trade,

They sit and they beg for the mess they have made.

With big gooey eyes and a thump of the tail,

They know that their puppy-dog charms will prevail!

I must admit it made me laugh and surely something stronger than a coffee was needed?

The Devil finds fun for idle pups 🥵

CS, snap.

Oh dear , they don’t half keep you on your toes Beth , like adventurous kids lol 😂 . Love reading your Puppy Tales and seeing all the photos 😘 x

Definitely keeping you fit😊

I giggled ... 🤭🤣

Never mind about Swansea postcodes can we have a few more Cardiff ones please - lol.

The system completes the draws from a database of active account ID numbers using a random number generator and the parameters of the smallest ID number to the largest. It then displays the postcode on the chosen account number as the winner of the draw. All it ‘sees’ is the account numbers of active members, it is not influenced by any other data or outside factors and is as random as a computer can be.

It's what happens when they advertise PMP in an area, people sign up & get consecutive registration numbers. If the computer selects a random block of say 3 to win then chances are they are both in the same area.

They are about 4 1/2 hours walk apart, but we've no idea of the membership numbers.

Wish it was my Swansea postcode!

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/14-how-are-winning-postcode-selected

The resident's unique membership numbers have been drawn in a random lottery. That's how Pick my Postcode works.

Years ago, after my husband retired from being a headteacher he signed up with an education publisher to proofread their new books which were manuals written by teachers. They said he was just the sort of person they wanted for the job. He was appalled at the standards of English and spent more hours than he was supposed to going through them and putting them right. When they were published he rushed to read them and was horrified to find that most of his “corrections” had reverted to the original nonsense. When they asked him to be part of the next lot he said, no chance and told them why. They weren’t bothered.

@Beth - you just described socialism. It's a race to the bottom and to poverty

Cakey If you're on a phone, hold the letter e which brings up a box with various accented letters, don't lift your finger, just slide across to the one you need é.

BR - I've just wasted a mouthful of cider that I've spluttered over teh keyboard reading that!

This time next year, Biggus, wel'll both be £200 better off :)

Quel bunch of plonkers, Cakey! 😂 Bonnet de douche, my old son; bonnet de douche. You know it makes sense😉

The BBC has unfortunately accepted poor English for a long time (so why would their standards be higher for autres langues?)

I've read so many books lately littered with grammatical and spelling errors it makes my blood boil. I stopped reading a series of books I was enjoying the continuing storyline of (I'd battled my way as far as book 6 of an undefined number) as I got fed up having to re-read sentences to make sense of them due to the amount of spelling errors and lack of punctuation. I used to proof-read as part of my job back in the late 70s-early 80s and it irks me no end when errors are so blatant. I have a shopping bag which has the following printed on it:

"Let's eat kids.

Let's eat, kids.

Punctuation saves lives."

Made me chuckle when I saw it. Little wonder my family refer to me as a 'grammar nazi'!

Proof reading doesn’t seem to exist anymore. ..along with fact checking?

The standard of journalistic grammar is very poor considering the number of aids that are available nowadays. Editors would never have stood for it sixty years ago, but then, the editors probably know no better themselves. If I dare to mention such a thing on the OU Forum for English Lit I get the woke third degree about upsetting people who make mistakes, and it’s the content, not the grammar, that’s important. They didn’t like it when I said we were at the University to try to improve ourselves. Well, that’s all right then. As long as we don’t upset anyone, let’s keep standards down.

I would suggest translation direct from the reporters voice.

To get accents in any language hit Google translate.

Naughty but funny.

🤣🤣

:-) :-)

It's wonderful to see how much has been raised so far.

I know every penny helps, but every pound helps more. Great total .

That's really good isn't it?

Done it Beth! So pleased for Em.

I’m sure we’ll make the 2,500 today - what a tribute to Simon!

Maybe not today, then - only 45 mins left to get another £27 but I’m sure it will get there.

You can select to avoid motorways on the sat nav. Trekker, hope you enjoyed your weekend and that your journey home is better.

Programming to avoid certain features is easy enough (maybe not for me, but that’s what I’m told!)

I will go incredibly long routes just to avoid the M25 but the sat nav always does everything it can to put me back on it because it's convinced it's the fastest route - ha ha!

The joys of driving on the M25 haven't changed then? Hope the celebrations make up for it.

....and a better journey home.

Hope you have a good time Trekker...

One of the best things about this site is the small talk... 😂

I'm 4'11" Mrs Pea. How about you?

Being vertically challenged, I'll see both Kenny b and Titchy when I get there! 😂

Very funny both of you.

I'll watch out for you Kenny. :-)

:-)

😄

😂

They have just been for their evening walk and sort-of asked to go to the stream - they took the turn-off that way, but it’s a bit further than they usually go, so we don’t do it too often. I keep trying to remember they are only 4 months, so should be having around 20 minute walks, and the stream walk is about 25 mins plus playing time. But they do love it! Their new collars arrived today - outgrowing their others so quickly. Storm’s is now red, instead of blue, because I can’t tell the dark colours apart in electric light. Shad’s is still dark green. They are now wet and soggy, having swum and splashed for ten minutes, and Storm is crashed on my lap (of course…).

Oh dear, Beth! 🙂

Well i'm still chuckling, cruel i know but i can't help it :-) :-) :-) :-)

I know I shouldn’t laugh as I can imagine the scene but you gotta love ‘em for the entertainment 🤣 or maybe I should say for entertaining us over the last few months!

Latest escapade: i left them outside for an hour after their walk, before I had to go to the dentist. Went toget them in - muddy noses. OK what plant pots have you emptied now? ‘None, Mum - come and see what we’ve done for you! Look, we’ve started digging a grave for you!’ A rectangular hole, about 15” long, 6” wide, 8” deep. Not in the flowerbed. In the lawn. Stones and grit everywhere, to be picked up before the mower spins them through the window. Earth and grass shredded everywhere. Muddy pawmarks on the floor. And a visitor due in ten minutes… TWO pups for sale! I will pay someone to take them! Free four gallons fuel with each one!

I still haven't had time to look at the email let alone download them but thanx to Beth & Marie.

Lovely photos Beth. Thanks to Marie too for sending them in to a very appreciative band of followers. 👍

samandi, that's my favourite one too! 😀

Ditto all of the above. 💚

We cannot have a hose anywhere near our dog we would never get to use it in peace….he loves water, especially if it’s coming out of a hose. 😂

Thanks Marie and Beth. They are so big it is hard to distinguish them from Indi now. Lovely to see such healthy dogs.

Nice photos Beth, chaos reigns but they will keep you fit ;-)

My favourite of this set is the one of the twins sitting together looking innocent 😂

Lovely pics especially the water ones, thanks Beth8it! & Marie.

Lady friends current Staffie when younger would tug of war with hoses, lawnmower cables, & brushes when you were trying to do things, we had to close the door.

Ditto.They are having such fun by the look of them.Lucky pups.

Many of them Kat. Don't ask me why but I seemed to be very popular with the girls. So my joke was just accepted as that and we moved on.

I wonder how many second dates you got, though I fully expect someone appreciated your SOH? 🤞

When I was very much younger and didn't own a car I used t ask the girls if they would like me to run them home. When they replied with an eager yes please I would ask if they had brought their running shoes with them.

😀

😂

:-) :-)

C above G g ;-)

As far as I know they can only challenge if they can prove they are dependents on you, or have been up to the time of your death. We disinherited my husband’s daughter (long story, and no regrets on my side) and have had no contact since, which is 14 years now. We wrote a letter to the solicitor with our reasons, re-written when the will was updated, and just have to hope that is enough. If not, I shall come back and haunt her.

One of the worst aspects of English law is that, even if you have given a clear reason why a relative who is not a dependent is not to inherit, that can still be challenged in Court.

I believe that, so long as adequate provision is made for dependents, a person's will should be final and should not be able to be challenged. They can spend their money as they wish while alive, so why should it be open to challenge after their death?

I've already been told that, codicil or no codicil, mine will be challenged when I die. And I have no idea how these people found out what is in it. My intention is to blow the lot when it is clear that the end is nigh, bang the lot on Kemi Badenoch becoming the next prime minister or something like that.

A couple of beneficiaries in mine have already died and I decided to change what happened to that money afterwards - I realised that some of the things I had previously put weren’t really what I now wanted. One big advantage of using a solicitor over DIY ones is that there’s far less chance of it being challenged. I have made one specific decision which I know will be a shock to the person expecting to inherit when they find they are not, but with a letter of statement to the solicitor, I am told it will justify it and they can’t then challenge.

Our friends had a codicil attached to their wills, didn't cost much. Ours were done in a free wills week but our friends only paid £350 for mirror wills. Just in time as it turned out! The codicil was to write a beneficiary out so it's as well they didn't drag their heels sorting it out.

It might be worth asking any other charities if they do it out of season.

If you do kill two birds with one stone make sure you're in the will first.

Yes but you have to make an appointment in advance before beginning of month as they just have limited slots, at least that's what I found out last year...

Yes, the charities do them, some ask for a donation, some just guilt-trip you into making one, but if it’s a charity you support anyway it might kill two birds with one stone.

Free wills months March and October I think.

Glitter. That sounds a ridiculous price. I'm paying under £900 for the complete conveyancing on my new place, all fees, charges, everything included. Admittedly I'd been quoted £1200 but I'd already had the lower quote elsewhere and he agreed to match it. It might be worth waiting for when they do 'free' wills and make a new one.

Good luck with the Solicitor Beth I went to see my solicitor last week to make a change to it , thought it would be just added to our old will but.no

Cost is going to be over £700

Thank you.

@Davhris -

https://www.google.com/search?q=back+to+back%E2%80%99+method++%29+to+transfer+data+to+a+new+phone.

It isn't the same as the cheek to cheek method written by Irving Berlin in 1934, or the downward dog popularized in the 1920's.

Beth,

Can you tell me what the back to back method is please?

Suspect I will be changing my phone in the next few months.

I use the ‘back to back’ method (behave!) to transfer data to a new phone. I don’t know if that makes any difference. Have never checked.

I'm fairly good with tech, but every so often somethin unexpected happens that gives me pause. About a year ago, I bought a new Samsung smart phone to replace my old one, which seemed to be having constant problems connecting to the internet. My son, who repairs mobiles for a living, said that it would probably cost as much to fix it as it would to buy a replacement, so I did.

Samsung have a useful function whereby, if you connect your old and new phones via a cable, you can transfer everything across, including apps, photos, documents and so on. I set the software in motion, expecting a reasonably straightforward transfer - the apps transferred across, along with my contacts and the like, and the settings I use in the apps also went across okay.

All good, until I opened my photo gallery - I had around 5,000 photos on my old phone, and when I looked at them on the old phone, they appeared under the date on which they were taken. On the new phone, all 5,000 appeared in one batch, all supposedly 'taken' on the day I transferred everything across. Needless to say, finding an individual photo is now well-nigh impossible - only if I sent it to someone via WhatsApp can I look at the relevant conversation and scroll back to find the image. Ho Hum.

Enver. I always like to hear about new products, and it was only whilst reading your comment it reminded me of something I considered buying for my dad as he was a writer. I forget the make but a very similar item is the XPPen Magic Note Pad. He often wrote notes for novels, articles etc but then had to copy them all to a word processor, and later a computer. The magic pad converts to text with a tap. The pen doesn't need charging which is a bonus. I can't believe I'd forgotten it but it is about 7 years since we lost him, and it was probably a few years earlier that I was researching them. They are very clever things for writers, artists etc.

Actually a battery powered pencil HAS been made by Apple, I once saw it used to draw graphics on their touchscreen devices at the Apple store in EH, it looks fairly ordinary & costs about £50 AFAIK. & can't be used on paper.

Their lineup consists of four variations of the Apple Pencil, all of which require internal rechargeable batteries to power their active touch sensors, Bluetooth connectivity, and pressure/tilt sensitivity.

Apple Pencil (1st Gen): Featured a rounded design and charged via a Lightning connector hidden under a cap.

Apple Pencil (2nd Gen): Added magnetic wireless pairing and inductive charging on the side of the iPad.

Apple Pencil (USB-C): An entry-level model featuring a sliding cap to reveal a USB-C port for charging.

Apple Pencil Pro: The most advanced iteration, featuring squeeze detection, barrel roll gyroscopes, haptic feedback, and a built-in battery that charges wirelessly

They also gave free? bookable? lectures on how to use their seriously expensive devices upstairs at various times, but it's a long way to travel.

Every time I try to import photos from my phone to the computer I seem to end up with duplicating the whole lot. I wish there was a simple button that just says ‘ remove duplicates’ so I don’t have Copy 1, Copy 2’ etc. i get fed up with removing them manually then finding they’re back the next time I upload (download?) new ones from the phone gain.

It's not just you. I absolutely hate technology today. I would embrace it IF it made life better, but every product, every update, every darn release just makes it more difficult and more complicated. Microsoft XP is a case in point. Lovely product. Easy to use. You could sort your photos exactly as YOU wanted, even within folder. But no, Microsoft and all else like us to use things their way, and it's never, ever intuitive!

@ANN - Fame, at last!

🧙‍♂️🧑‍🦯🤣

DaSoothMoother 😂 You got me there, but never liking people getting one up on me I thought "Has a battery powered pencil ever been invented?" Damn, you're still one up, the answer is no. But, a pencil powered battery has been made. They literally draw an electrode onto a battery using a pencil. Currently it is lower in power but does have the possibility of being improved on.

@Cakey🎂 Don't panic. If the document in question is stored in "The Cloud" it could be that Cloud became temporarily unavailable. It could well reappear at some point.

"The Cloud" is a fancy phrase techies use when they want you to rent some storage space on their computer. At the end of the day it's just another computer somewhere remote, and they do lose connection from time to time.

@Alley1940 - "App" is the trendy word a program, especially one on a mobile phone, although Windows 11 has also jumped on the "App" bandwagon now.

We say problems, they say "undocumented features."

Yes, the search bar is a great help for technophobes like me.

Possibly the file has been dragged elsewhere. Try doing a search for one of the files from the top directory

Wish I had Grandchildren or even Great Grandchildren around to help me with tech. I know how to do what I do and that is it. As for apps - what are they? People keep asking me to send them pictures of myself. I did follow one persons instructions right up to the point where I was promoted to select a stored picture. A bit difficult as I don't have any. Next problem please!

Could it just be minimised? although that would not explain the non-responsiveness.

if not try hard refresh [Ctrl] + [F5],

if not try [Ctrl]] + [Alt] + [Delete] to reset to new user, then login again.

If that don't work force shutdown (turn power off then on) followed by Restart & when browser opens it will prompt "Restore Pages?". I do that when cursor & keyboard freeze.

Hope you haven't deleted the file, it should be about (somewhere)..

If all else fails, get a grandchild to do it. LOL

I'm told there were a few areas reporting power cuts of about 2 hours on Thursday afternoon, maybe that caused a local transmitter to lose power.

@ANN - didn't know they made battery operated pencils!!

🧙‍♂️🧑‍🦯🤣

I have a battery operated pencil sharpener. The batteries last for ever.

Technology is great - until it isn't!

Not you - I missed the 1pm News so went onto iPlayer- that was unobtainable too. I tried to open a file on the OU documents I had been using and it wouldn't let me edit, move, save, close or anything else. I don't know if you use Safari, and it's probably too late now, but sometimes I can go off a site, go to Safari and it's still open and it seems to do things (goodness knows what) and sometimes it works again. That's a lot of 'probablies' and 'sometimes' - but for iPlayer to go down, and my phone was playing up this morning too on my walk, maybe there is an internet problem.

Well, at least if you used to live there, you don't now, so it shouldn't matter - unless you kept that postcode. Anyway, if your membership number is drawn, it won't matter what postcodes have already been chosen, they can come up again.

Or maybe you'll win tomorrow. That's how a random draw works, so you never know.

Slightly less often than that - on average, it happens about every 30 months.

The 'blue moon' will look just like any other moon, and it's not that uncommon, it happens on average roughly once a year.

Much more interesting are Venus Transits but I doubt (!) I'll be alive to see the next one. I did watch the 2004 one, though, when we lived in South Wales.

It was definately a very light blue when I saw it behind skimpy cloud in south east yesterday mid afternoon.

https://youtu.be/v0fy1HeJv80

Afraid it won't be blue - Blue Moon' is just a name for the second Full Moon in a calendar month. If you have a view of the eastern horizon when it rises on Saturday night, you may see it as orangish, beause of light refraction. But it will be its normal colour when it gets higher in the sky.

A good website for all kinds of astronomical information (such as local times of rising and setting) is timeanddate.com

Well done👍🏼, at least it didn't convey "Bark, Bark, Growl, I'm not listening, & no-one gets in, you hear. Bark, Growl".

Reminds me of when a lady nearby with a nice riding arena said I could borrow it to train my young pony. Come around 2pm she said, so off I go with pony, walk to her gate, up bounds this jet-black pointer, growling, snapping, barking - he meant business. Well, I was stuck with the pony there, who wasn’t bothered at all, couldn’t open the gate again with the dog there, nobody came, so I did my dog-training voice - ‘Hey, what a good boy, you ARE good at your job, aren’t you? Let’s go and find your mum, then, show me where she is, and patted my leg, started to walk on down to the house. One very flummoxed dog, very unsure, half-wagged his tail, escorted me and then Mrs. Appeared. ‘Oh, I forgot the time,’ she said. ‘How on earth did you get past the dog?’ ‘oh, he’s no problem,’ I said breezily, ‘made friends with him and he showed me where you were.’ Apparently they don’t get deliveries as the dog is seriously not playing games. I could see he was doing his job, respected that, but still told him I was coming in, and I was in charge. We got on fine.

I moved a South African guy who had a massive grey Great Dane as a guard dog, He said it used to charge out into his back garden & chase cats but the cat jumped over the fence or ran under it (between its legs) as it couldn't stop easily, & the neighbours didn't want it jumping over fences & wrecking their gardens, so he bought it a whippet for company, the whippet rushed out & pinned the cat down then the GD chewed it up. Bad dogs..

When we arrived on the day to do the removal the GD was in the front room with its paws on the bay window sill looking out, my mate saw it from my lorry & asked if it was a horse. The guy said if it gets in from the garden don't move a muscle or it might think you are burglars, ... it did get in & at the worst possible moment, we were carrying the heavy slate base of his pool table. We froze, & it stood on all fours sniffing our heads. One yell & the guy came PDQ to remove it.

So much easier than clips on a lead - in fact, I will probably get the gundog slips for the boys, as they are getting better on the lead anyway now and slip leads don’t unloop themselves like the chains do.

I used choke chains on my last two dogs. After letting them loose for a run I only had to hold them open and they both would come to me and put their heads through the loop.

I'll get the photos sent out.

Yes, I had to hold off other things until my essay went off. I sent it yesterday, checked it, deadline midday today, thinking, 'Aren't I good, sent a day early to avoid the last-minute crowd or any tech problems'... then had a funny feeling this morning, something was saying check it again. Although deadline is midday, there is a grace period to midnight, so I had a quick look at what I had sent - found I had not included the list of references I had used! I know I did it - think I must have just downloaded the wrong copy. You know what it's like, you get so brain-fogged, you see what you want to see, not what is there... Anyway, quick scramble to re-format, re-send, and a big cup of coffee (no, nothing stronger - yet) to recover. Now, photo-time.

Update - 4 emails sent to admin.

Enver, I use a choke chain too on Indi - had it on all my dogs, and I think they're kinder than those awful Halti things on their noses, or a harness that teaches them to pull. My brother uses a harness on his collie (because he pulls). I said, 'What do they put on huskies to pull a sled?' and he thought about it, said, 'Oh. Yes, I suppose so.' A choke chain hangs loose and unfelt unless the dog pulls, then when it chokes itself and finds it's easier to walk nicely, they basically teach themself. It's not quite that simple, and I wouldn't use one on a greyhound or saluki etc with a long, weak neck, but otherwise all mine have had one. The termites are still on collars, but will go onto a chain when they are a bit bigger - it's so much easier to drop on them instead of fiddling with a clip. Speaking of labradors, my first one, Nicky, was a working gundog when I got him. He had been taught to go and find a pheasant that was shot and fallen int woods, water etc by his owner saying 'Lost!' He also knew 'See'em off! Cats!' as his owner was plagued with cats coming into his garden to perform instead of their own - we varied that by saying, 'What's in the garden? Foxes?' He would look alert, but not do anything. 'Elephants?' same again. 'Camels?' He was off! 'Camels Lost!' became our fun word, as he wasn't supposed to chase cats when he came to us. Mother did not approve.

When lady friend had Molly her black lab, I used to say "What's thaaat?.... Is it water/a squirrel/etc?", she's look & be off after it. One day we were on the banks of the forth near Blackness Castle, she saw the water in the distance & without letting me lock the camper she was off down the steep slope, me literally skiing behind her on the slippery grass, yelling & trying to slow down or stop her, & when we got to the promenade she galloped across it & leaped over the low wall like she was doing the water jump at Aintree, the tide was out & there was about a 10 foot drop & a few feet of mud she would have gone under. I put my foot against the low wall & held on tight & prayed. The strong choke chain luckily held, & I dragged her up hand over hand on the end of it, & made sure she was none the worse for wear. Phew! ... Meanwhile the people around & the lady friend who was left standing by my campervan were all watching in amusement.

Hope your essay got in OK.

Really enjoy your tails Beth. Reminds me how much I miss by not having a dog.

Yes please, it seem ages since I had any photos of them.