I think the key phrase would be 'kept in hospital' rather than 'kept in a bed in a hospital.'

Quite possibly subcontracted to private hospitals

Sadly, I think Jaffa's probably right.

I think your last sentence is probably the answer.

Barrie, very good! 🤣🤣

As hens are female that leads me to think that they are still in the coop because they don't want to admit to being Lesbihens. 😊

Good one.

Let me know when you have managed to make hens meet as I struggle on occasion too lol.

Made me cluckle :-)

😂

That’s down to your usual standard, Mad 🙂

That’s a cracker 😂😂😂

😂

🤣🤣

👍🏻😊

do you really need it explaining?

I’m with you Lol 63.

I've read it 3 or 4 times and I'm still not seeing the joke.

I had to read that twice as well. Worth a chuckle.

😂

😊At least he'll understand if he reads the answer.

:-)

😄

Had to read it twice 🤦🤦😂😂

🤣🤣

😀

These ads are certainly scams, as 'Blank Anon' has correctly pointed out, especially if people can't tell the difference (Well spotted btw) between a wasp and a bee. The wasp, being (npi) aggressive, does not need the water 'trap' as it usually will get that sustenance from its victim. Bees need water to survive.

There are simple bait & switch tactics here:

The Bait:

Fraudsters use high-quality photos (sometimes) of real handmade ceramics (often stolen from independent UK potters) or AI-generated images to attract wildlife lovers.

The Switch:

Buyers who fall for the ad either receive nothing at all, or they get cheap, smooth plastic replicas that are actually dangerous because bees slip on them and drown. 🐝

If you put water out, keep it in the shade, put it in a saucer or make it very shallow, and add some small stones or sticks for the bees to land on safely.

Please do send a screenshot and the details outlined in the FAQ over.

😆.

These are definitely scam ads and there are hundreds. The video is of an AI slightly blurry product with superimposed wasps. The magazine / company name is fake and the website is a poorly created effort to steal your bank details!

AI tells me it's a well reported phishing site. Everything about it screams dodgy but apparently Google thinks it's fine for gullible people to be scammed.

I wouldn't necessarily suspect a scam - just lazy use of AI. I've seen well-meaning posts on FB asking us to put out water for hedgehogs, with a picture of a pet African hedgehog instead of a British native one. And a similar one saying put out a little dish of water for bees, and the AI-generated bees were the stuff of nightmares...

Please email us with screenshots of this advert so that the company who help us with the ads can and and remove it: https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/113-what-to-do-if-you-see-a-dodgy-or-inappropriate-advert

Tried clearing it as 'seen multiple times' ?

Agree with all the above (especially Nick! 😈)

@Lol 63 😂😂 in total agreement with you !!

The problems with the UK electoral systems are:

1. It should be compulsory for all to vote

2. There needs to be a "None of the clowns listed above" box

The problem with the whip is it doesn't work right. If they shopped where I do I'm sure they'd do as they should.

Maybe we should elect Larry the cat, after all, he’s spent more time in 10 Downing Street than any politician ever has

Burnham doesn’t appear to have any policies of his own yet. We will have to see what he comes up with. So far he has worked for very differing ‘bosses’ and always said he backed them completely - hence his being known as the chameleon.

Am I the only one feeling a little bit optimistic then? I guess I've been a socialist all my life (though I'd really describe myself as centre left). I firmly believe in 'community' - helping each other. Also equality with no-one 'above' the rest. I want to see an end to all this "me, me, me" culture and a return to times when we helped each other. I honestly think there's a chance we may go some way towards this under Burnham. We tried it with Corbyn but the right-wing media crucified him. I hope they don't do the same with Burnham. As John Lennon said: "You may call me a dreamer but I'm not the only one." :-)

I don't think this constant change helps anyone.

Titchy, sadly, I agree with you.

This is only my opinion but I honestly think the country has had it, and it will take a very long time to be put right, no matter who is in charge. You only have to look around, and I mean the countryside, not just our filthy cities, to see we are the next thing to having the status of a third world country. If only we were able to log-in somewhere and actually see the true state of our finances, and the outgoings (which aren't making one iota of a difference) then we would all experience a "squeaky bum " time. I despair and try to put it out of my mind, but then think of our grandchildren and what is their future going to be?

Oh Beth, pleeeaaase nooooot Milliband!!

More importantly than the PM, I am waiting to see who is Chancellor. The consensus seems to be that Reeves will be out and either Streeting or Miliband in. Whichever one, or someone else, will show the direction the new PM will take. Assuming it is Andy Burnham, I wouldn’t give him as long as Starmer - he’s made U-turns in what he ‘believes in’ and ‘supports’ before he even got to Parliament, and all the pundits are saying he has no policy, he changes allegiance according to whoever he is working for and is known as ‘the chameleon’ - not an encouraging start.

Unfortunately too many only care about feathering their own nests knowing they have at least 5 years in a job, and can make enough connections to step away the worst happens.

It's about time that the salaries are reduced, and then we'll see how many of them want to carry on in the role, this is the way to find out if people want to make a difference or are in it for the wrong reasons

We as the electorate should have more say in their allowances etc as well, as it is us that elected them into their roles they occupy. There more than happy to stop other public sector workers having limited pay rises, yet they govern themselves on everything associated with them

I think many, if not all, MPs need to be sacked.

How long would any one of us remain in a job we were incapable of doing? 🤔

As for our next strategically placed primed puppet, they'll only get the job if they've pledged allegiance to Agenda 2030.

Us being told who will be 'our PM' is not a democratic decision.

IMHO, the MPs need a kick up the behind, and told to get on with their jobs. You can't like everybody and all this speaks of school playground tactics and bullying.

The next leader had better start standing up to these MPs cause things won't change if he or she doesn't.

So many calls for a GE, please no, we can't afford it as a country.

🤣🤣 GrumpyGran

Apparently, they didn't drink all the beer in Boston. It seems they drank one bar almost dry until all that was left was Bud Light - their reaction was "That **** isnae beer!" and asked for Coke! 🤪

Lovely to hear football fans being spoken about in a positive light!

Great to hear some positive news ☺️

That’s brilliant, considering the reputation British fans of all nationalities used to have. Good for the Tartan Army.

New to me too.👍

😂 Not heard that one before.

🤣🤣

:-) :-)

Very good punchline.

As a child my father took me to a sawmill and later in life I worked as a specialist timber selector in a timber yard with a sawmill. In both cases there wasn't a single person working there at a saw who had a full hand of fingers.

😄

🤣🤣

The knives come out in the media whoever comes to power. It’s the rule of the game.

Certain aspects of the 'media' have been after him since six weeks or so into his term of office, and I'm no Labour supporter! He did a lot of good, though did make some questionable decisions, and that very much seems to have been looked over. It does make one question how much outside influence is at play here (all to probably destabilise us).

I don't think this constant change helps anyone.

Robbo87, my personal thoughts too. :-(

KS was doing a good job. I know because Trump didn't like being stood up to.

We're a debt ridden society, it's all-pervading and nothing much will improve anytime soon - mark my words.

The only time I have ever seen Keir Starmer smile was the first 24 hours after Labour won the last election. So I'm kind of happy for him.

I have never voted Labour and at the age of 85 I probably never will. But Andy Burnam is said to have been good for Manchester sorting quite a few of the problems there so I will wait and see what difference he will make. Always assuming he will be our next PM.

I doubt it CS

Absolutely not!

I will try to get it on iPlayer.

Beth, It was in the New Forest National Park. Should be repeated next Sunday morning on BBC2 unless they've got football or something else instead.

Really? I hope they clear up after the pups while they are there. Where was it?

My brother used to smoke roll-ups with liquorice papers - smelt vile. Dad told him to give up, it was bad for his health, an£ brother retorted, ‘Why? You smoke too.’ Dad threw his own cigarettes on the fire and£ never smoked again. Brother took about three months to give up totally. I wonder how much they have saved over the years? That was around 1968.

I remember packs of 5 Woodbine's and 2 Park Drive, and even heard of but not knowingly seen Will's Whiffs, Then there was other non famous ones like Merit and Nerit.

They had french cigs like Gauloise & Gitanes too made with black tobacco..

Menthol versions included Everest, St Moritz and Consulate.

If you wanted something fancy for parties there was Sobranie Cocktail which had 5 different pastel colours with gold filters in a packet, or something stronger there was Sobranie Black Russian which had a crimp in a hollow tube not a filter.

Some of the smokers at boarding school got a herbal roll your own mixture from some local chemist of all places, dunno what was in it but that at least smelled pleasant.

I take it from this that Richmonds is also a cigarette brand?

As a non-smoker I only know the brands that used to be written all over Formula 1 cars.

I got a load of abuse when I had a go at a 12-yr-old who was scrounging cigarettes off a junkie - and was given one. Told him he’d have to work on his swearing if he wanted to outdo the builders I worked with, and an ex-Navy husband.

Very good. But I saw the punchline coming.

I was stopped by some young girls outside a store asking me to get some vodka for their mother. Got quite abusive when I declined.

Told the wife this one but as soon as I got to 'Richmonds' she said "What's that?" so I had to change it to Benson and Hedges as she hadn't heard of Richmond's. It really doesn't work the same.

🤣🤣

You must have saved them some money.

🤣🤣

🤣🤣🤣

:-) :-) :-)

It's common for people to start new threads accidentally.

https://help.pickmypostcode.com/article/109-how-do-i-reply-to-a-comment

Does it help your observational skills?

For example, to spot the "Reply" button?

I have been doing it for one month and feel heaps better. Don’t go for yogago or harma as it is just normal Thai chi

They claim you can see a difference in 2-3 weeks🤔 Can you?

Kat - no question of that. They’ve got the stake and garlic lined up ready for you.

There are videos all over fb & insta trying to get people to sign up to 28 day challenges.

I'll get exorcised when I'm a ghost! Until then I'm being careful!

Yes….google ads on the Mahjong game I play and side adverts on this site. I’ve never clicked an ad so don’t know why I get those in particular. Do you think they can see me and KNOW I need to do more exercise. 😂

It is a Google ad. Tai Chi works if a qualified instructor takes the classes.

Never seen it. When you say advertised, do you mean like a Google advert?

Is so, I’d say it definitely won’t work. 🤣

Any exercise is good, irrespective of its name or how you move.

Yes, you'll be a few pounds lighter every month, but what else would you spend them on.

Indi phoned the police once, carrying my phone and accidentally (I assume) caught the side button, ringing the emergency number. She has also taken several photos the same way, and the boys are starting to pick it up and carry it too.

Could have been worse, could have rolled over on your phone & dialed a premium rate chat line. Some toothless old dear knitting socks & telling the dog what she'd like to do to him IRL!🤣

Maybe it wanted to Shepherd a German?

Could have been watching Germany in the world Cup, if it was a Schnauzer.

Never ending fun.

One of the Rovers teams I expect! Nasty shock to the system when that happens. I fell asleep in the chair again in the evening, must have knocked my phone off the chair arm, and woke up to find them happily spreading my credit cards over the floor and trying to pick them up, the phone case chewed and missing on one corner and the little magnet strap missing that holds the case shut. Luckily a magnet, not a battery, or it would be an emergency vet rush, so today I am going to hold a magnet up to each one and see which flies across the room. Hopefully it will work its way through in due course - no ill effects so far!

What team does the dog support ;-)

Which match was the dog watching?

A Nick Name the frogs probably need to come from Arizona like the Hopi themselves.

Runner Beans!

Very funny both.

🤣🤣

Guess you should have used frogs that have already croaked, or maybe jumping beans.

👍good one NN

Very funny Kenny. I can see that actually happening in today's world.

Serves you right Enver for hating flies so much lol.

There was a fly annoying me by attacking the light reflecting off my glasses & crawling across my screen, so I hit it with a lump of wood .... now my screen just shows a big cobweb. 🕸

🤣🤣🤣 ROFL

Some people think it's good to be drunk, but I always say, try telling a glass of water that.......🤪

Not me, haven’t drunk anything for ages! Not been wasted since I was 17, my one and only experience.

Who is Wasted?

I was commenting on the grammar. Wasted!

That's nice Beth, I expect it was all the more enjoyable with someone to share it with.

I was. We were.

I shall make a note of that for the next time my mobile ohone requires people to reply using a book mark.

Remaining items are:-

Over-the-counter medications: Allergy pills, teeth whitening strips, and pain relievers are small, expensive, and easily flipped for cash.

Premium meats and cheese: In the grocery sector, high-end cuts of meat and branded cheeses are historically among the highest-theft items by volume.

I recently found some dumped security tags, the sort with a wee reel of indestructible wire to wrap round large valuable items & boxes. I tried taking one apart - couldn't break or open it with hammer screwdriver saw pincers or anything, to get the reel of wire, alarm & battery out. So I cut the wire & its alarm went off. LOL The cable is long enough to be used for bikes, but had to throw the rest.

I wonder how many security tags gets stolen each year.

Enver, in Boots the razor blades are on a twisty contraption that isn't easy to work out how to remove a packet of blades ( well I can't work them out!! )

CarolineC, me too!

Perfume?

@Poppy - "I heard a while ago that the latest product to be put behind screens was chocolate." My husband would say that's because the supermarkets had heard I was out shopping! :-D

(I'm a bit of a chocoholic)

I’ve just been reading about how threats from garden centres is a problem too. It is sad to hear about.

Our local foodbenk used to always be short of baby formula

I heard a while ago that the latest product to be put behind screens was chocolate.

Well Done tetleyt, Infant formula: High retail cost and constant, desperate demand make it a prime target for illicit resale.

When a local shop puts a face cream, a container of baby formula, or a package of razors or prime rib steak behind a plexiglass barrier, it is a direct operational response to those specific items leading the nationwide statistics for retail loss.

@Rosy - security tags just means thieves simply run past the detectors (which will go off) & out the shop & away, no staff spare or willing to stop them as they may have weapons..

Still a few chemist items & a popular food item to find.

Razor blades and meat are security tagged in both the supermarket and Boots.

Baby care: Milk Formula?

@Cakey & Nic are correct - steaks yes., & @Buttercup - it does mean shoplifters, so which item(s) from each category? It's not nappies or bleach, but there are some more items in the baby care & food categories.

The most stolen items aren't Rolexes or iPhones, and are probably sitting in your home right now.

While the exact top spot fluctuates slightly year by year and by store type, nationwide retail data consistently points to health and beauty products—specifically name-brand razor blades and cosmetics— as the most stolen retail items.

Criminologists and retail loss prevention experts often explain this phenomenon using the CRAVED model. Items targeted for theft are Concealable, Removable, Available, Valuable, Enjoyable, and Disposable (meaning easily liquidated or resold). Razor blades perfectly embody this model. A single package of premium replacement cartridges can cost a lot, yet it is scarcely larger than a deck of cards.

A shoplifter can easily sweep dozens of packages into a bag or coat. Because they are universally used and rarely expire, stolen razors are incredibly easy to resell on online marketplaces, at flea markets, or even to smaller independent retailers.

Organized retail crime rings, rather than opportunistic individuals, drive a massive portion of this inventory loss. These groups deploy people to clear shelves of specific high-demand products.

This theft dynamic explains why modern retail environments look the way they do today. Store managers do not lock up inventory merely to frustrate honest shoppers; they are responding to precise data about organized theft.

Lack of customer assistants to sell these items will make you want to go home & shop online instead.

1. Steak

2. Nappies

3. Soap powder

4. Sanitary products

I hope we get the answers.

Question wasn't very clear, I thought it meant shoplifters...

I thought you were asking for what we thought was the most stolen item in each of those groups, my suggestions are:

Food - joints of meat

Chemist - cough medicine or razor blades

Cleaning - bleach

Baby care - disposable nappies

I’d have thought baby care first - people with babies are frequently struggling with costs anyway. I’m not typecasting but there are so many single mothers with several kids trying to exist and cope on their own, the temptation must be pretty great.

I'd have said food.

Soap powder is one of them. Name-brand laundry detergent: Premium laundry detergents, particularly Tide, have famously been used as a form of street currency in various cities due to their relatively high price point and universal utility.

Most shop theft is by drug addicts who as Little Owl said offload it to get money for drugs.

There are also organised gangs who sweep shelves and sell on at pubs and boot sales .

It’s seldom real poverty that is the cause.

Enver, we don't have much crime in this area, but there was an incident in the cleaning department of a local shop - 2 young women nicked a giant pack of soap powder and fought with the assistant (it was shocking), I was told it is because they can sell cleaning items on easily.

!. Food

2. Baby Care dept.

3. Cleaning dept.

4. Chemist dept.

Chris - all true, but at the same time, we supplied a heck of a lot of those supplies to Russia via the Murmansk convoys, and to Malta to try and keep them alive and fighting. Not all the supplies were for us.

The year's projected spending by the NHS is around £200 BILLION pounds, the actual spending for the year if everyone did their job right is £47. 😁

@JennieS - "Basics are that the government should be able to Defend and Feed its own country. Both of which are no longer happening...."

We haven't been able to defend our shores for decades. That's why we are in NATO, stronger together. Nice though it is to reminisce about plucky little England standing up to the might of Germany, the simple fact is that an invasion of our shores was not Hitler's priority. He wanted Britain out of the war. Remember he was a racist, not a nationalist, and couldn't understand why we - racially similar to the German people - opposed his plans.

As for feeding ourselves. If we had not had the Atlantic Convoys from the USA, Britain would have starved. We've been a net importer of food for decades, since the height of Empire, and even with 'Dig for Victory' and everyone's gardens given over to food production, plus rationing at a level that would cause riots today, we were never more than a week from running out of food completely.

All an inconvenient truth, but we couldn't feed ourselves when our population was under £30 million and we certainly couldn't today.

We could have a NHS that puts people first and provides whatever care people want, regardless of cost, but it would need to be paid for.

The current year's projected spending by the NHS is around £200 BILLION pounds. To increase this by a quarter would add - very roughly - £1,000 to the tax bill of every adult in the country.

Pensioners have not lost their Winter Fuel Allowance unless they have an income of over £35,000 poer year. That is considerably more than most working people, many of whom have mortgages to pay and families to support. The image of an old lady wrapped in blankets who can't afford to turn on the single bar fire is pure propaganda. I don't earn £35,000 a year or anything like it and nobody is giving me the WFA, nor should they.

Pensions are not frozen. The triple lock is still in place. This guarantees a minimum rise each year of 2.5%, and more if inflation or average pay awards are greater. A lot of working people would be more than happy with that. I'm due to retire in the not too distant future and I will be wealthier then than I have ever been in my life. Pass me the cruise brochure, someone?

Everyone wants better services, more money spending on everything, but nobody wants to pay more for it. You can't get a fortnight in the Caribbean for the price of a weekend in Skegness.

As a diehard Conservative voter, I think Starmer really had a chance of making me consider supporting him when he first was elected. I think he is a decent, well-meaning man but his problems all stem from his first and major fault - appointing Rachel Reeves as Chancellor. She makes the decisions, and effectively sets policy, which he has to present to the public as something he supports. When it all goes wrong and he has to make a U-turn it reflects on him, and he is in a no-win situation. If he sacked her he would be accused of looking for a scapegoat, if he stands by her she brings him down. To his credit he has always taken responsibility himself, but by not quietly replacing her early on it is now too late to kick her out. AFAIK all the unpopular decisions - pensions freeze, tax threshold freeze, pensioners’ WFB removal, inheritance tax on pensions - come from her Treasury decisions. Starmer was a Public Prosecutor, not an accountant, so she has pushed through her own ideas. We can only hope her time is over shortly.

Not going to happen. Larry the resident Downing Street cat has seen 7 different PMs in his lifetime, looking like it could be 8 before very long.

I've often thought they should send a taskforce of retired business leaders (there are some ethical ones) into the NHS to work out ways to make things easier for staff and patients. Governments have always blamed the previous one, but they were more civil about it years ago. I don't like the nastiness from all sides during Prime Minister's questions.

Basics are that the government should be able to Defend and Feed its own country. Both of which are no longer happening....

Think that is in a parallel universe A N N !

Glad you worked out what the problem was, oddcat.

I wish I just knew all this stuff……it sounds alien to me.🙄

Once you have set the laptop to the correct time zone as Tim suggested, (sounds like it's set to New Zealand if it's 12 hours out) it should work out the correct time as soon as it sees an internet connection.

Click the Windows icon; settings; Time and Language; Date and time; region and then set it to UK.

After that, browse to the website ninite.com to select your favouite utilities and automatically install them.

If you haven't already done so oddcat, download & install the Google Chrome browser. When you then sign in to Google, it should have all your old bookmarks & passwords if you saved them them previously.

The clock issue sounds like the laptop is set to the wrong time zone. Normally when setting up the laptop for the 1st time, you get asked which country you are in.

If you discover too many problems at this early stage, i would be tempted to do a complete reset and set the laptop again, as if you have just got it out of the box. It's easier to do it now rather than in a few weeks or months time when you have customised it to your liking.

Glad it got sorted.

Unbelievable, the clock was wrong! switched on this morning at 6.40 and screen tells me its 21.40. Brand new ZenBook 14 and after all the updates it auto processed yesterday, it didn't set the clock. Bizarre lol

Everything on PMP is correct now

I have a reconditioned W10 laptop & a reconditioned Linux (Chrome o/s) laptop, when I got the newer Linux, I charged it, turned it on, & updated with my email address, all site links imported automatically from the Chrome browser on the W10. There's a slight difference in the way each browser works, but both displaying well.

Are other sites the same? Perhaps if it's 2nd hand or reconditioned there could be something wrong with the screen or software, or it's not fully powered up or updated yet? Contact Admin - they could advise or ask Tech for you (a screenshot might help).

If no joy by end of next week, consider returning it to wherever you got it for exchange or refund, or claim via any credit card, or (£100+ for debit card Chargeback via your bank), or PayPal payment you made.

Thanks chocolate spaniel. That's what I'm hoping, it will sort self out. Its been a bit of a nightmare all day setting everything up to the way I'm used to. I've been using chrome for a few years, coming back to windows is a challenge.

I bought a tablet, used it twice and gave up. I had no idea how to use it.

It's LU6 3DF. Got no suggestions though, I would tend to go for 'see if it settles down' but that's hardly helpful! Currently struggling with setting up a tablet for OH where he hasn't saved his password and can't remember it! 🙄

Yes it was on here A.Nick

Kb :-) :-) :-)

I'm hoping I didn't see this on here, if so apologies to whoever posted it.

I took my wife to a restaurant recently and asked if they had a table for two. The manager said "We're a bit short staffed, would you mind waiting?" I said "Of course, no problem" so he handed me a couple of plates and said "Those are for table 6."

Brilliant!

😂🥝

😂 😂 😂

Are you by any chance a singer?

Pearl, don't rely on a daily email to check the site, it is easier to just bookmark it.

Your Prize Pot is clearly drunk. 😊

Sounds like a hardware fault, related to Linux? People who know a lot more than me may be able to help if that's the case.

Pearl, at the top of the reminder emails it states "Prize pot" followed by the total amount available across all draws for that day and "Your Bonus", which is what is currently in your bonus pot. I assume you may be referring to where it says "Prize pot" based on what you have said. I have no idea why yours is showing as "Socket can". Please could you send us a screenshot of this, along with your device make & model and browser details, so that we can pass it onto Tech? Thank you.

Good to have an interesting survey that you can give honest feedback to.

Hope you have some more!

Meanwhile in North-West Wales we have heavy rain and strong blustery wind, as usual.