Robert M Estall

I take your word for lack of trains from Louth, I wasn't thinking of a train service from there specifically. I just like the town. I'm happy to share Suffolk though Southwold (no trains!) is somewhat over-run with second-homers. Ipswich (lots of trains!) now has some pretty rough bits and county lines problems, but the docklands have come up in the scheme of things. Bouncers on most of the central pubs which tells you something.

Yes, Lincolnshire has a lot to offer; Louth is a charming town, even a little hilly around there, terrific beaches, a fast train service to London if you want, and it's relatively inexpensive! The city of Lincoln is impressive if cities are your thing. The fens are a little bleak in winter perhaps.

If Gen's in Darwin she's a long way from the storm about to hit Perth. The closest I got to Darwin was The Isa which was only close in the Australian sense. I must have knocked around Aus for most of a year in the 60s. As for Harry's Bar, I never developed a taste for either Bourbon or cocktails (with the possible exception of a Daiqueri) I think I was reading Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck about then (Oh, and Henry Miller) but it never occurred to me to seek out their watering holes. More likely a jug of cheap red in a simple cafe. At the moment the cafes and pubs are closed so we rely on a delivery from Majestic. In fairness, we get better wine that way.

No guns or Gods here please! This is supposed to be a supportive forum; photography and stock photography order of the day. Plates of food a permitted diversion?

sure, be discreet don't ask and RM no release. as far as empty shelves & all that, we already have a lot. I suppose the empty shelves/virus hoarding is a story, but not one I want to pursue

Speaking of lobster, as the restaurants are closed for the moment, our fish seller has a box or two of them at good prices. The last couple of years we could hardly get any as the Chinese had discovered that UK Lobsters were just fine and they drove the prices up dramatically. For now it's almost a weekly treat. Should have samphire any day now. If the weekly fish van doesn't get any in, I know a few places over near Felixstowe where I can pick it wild. The mobile fish shop is doing a terrific trade! Our village butcher shop is doing really well and the other mixed shop is expanding his range. There is a third shop, one of those little general stores but he doesn't even stock his shelves properly.

The real curse of Agfa happened if you tried to copy it. basically, all neutral shadows went green. Ok if you don't mind populating your dupes with little green men. It was OK when we came to the era of scanning. A little grainy perhaps, but a whole lot better than that horrid green cast

looks like I couldn't send anything in just now as my internet connection is reporting 65 Mbps down load but zero upload. Curious to see if this comment goes anywhere edit: seems to have worked

There seem to be an endless supply of people who think kids should experience horse riding. Why, we don't all have a crack at lion taming?. Our neighbour put a carthorse in his back garden and we all were sat on his very broad back for a few minutes. He was from Alberta and just felt the need for a horse. He only had 1/2 an acre although there was a little bit of field behind where he could tether it. I can't remember anyone taking it for a ride and there was no shelter for the winter so that venture didn't last long. At least he didn't roll on anyone. Any pony rides in Liverpool?

I would say you could edit out a lot of similars. Too many will likely drive down your ranking so your image will be less likely to appear on the first pages of searches. That has a dramatic effect on your sales figures.

I once went along on Holiday with a couple to a holiday rental for a week. They were both speed-readers. They had a heavy box which they produced saying they thought they would re-read the Flashman books (there are a dozen I think). I didn't know them so managed a couple which were amusing. They dashed through them all and pulled out another box of something else. They were before the Box-Set in our current meaning

I like parrots in principle but that beak is a real worry. I had a girlfriend long ago who had a couple of African Greys. We got on OK but they did have a tendency to put holes in me just when I was getting confident. As pets they have the redeeming feature of long life. Cats and dogs give you affection and companionship but don't often live past 15 years so you are going to feel a lot of hurt from time to time.

Cat flaps give cats a lot of freedom and take a lot of angst out of home owning but there is a downside. Those cats given to hunting will bring their triumphs indoors. Once the big handsome grey one dragged a partridge through his private entrance but it was still well and alive. Somehow it backed itself into the wine rack with the pecking bit poking out which worried the cat. I caught the cat and put him behind doors and extracted the partridge. It seemed OK though probably traumatised so I took it out past the wall and turned it loose. Never knew how that turned out. We used to have ducks waddle up from the river and hang out in the garden but the cat was getting bigger so the day came when they decided to find a safer gaff

Our garden backs onto a wild couple of acres of rough ground but has a high brick wall with close boarded gate which seems to keep the critters out. There was a young badger tunneled in but he didn't reckon on the dog. It didn't come to blows but he was not made welcome. Also we have a big cat who does for rabbits, rats and the occasional squirrel. Both the Dalmatian & Labradoodle eat all the low-hanging fruit from the apple & pear trees, but seem to leave the garden alone except for the odd runner bean. I lose a few raspberries to the blackbirds, but not enough to worry about. Only thing I have to net is the gooseberry bush. The woods pong of fox sometimes but I've only seen him in the garden once in 30 years. The wooden fence has enough gaps for hedgehogs to come and go but they seem the only regular visitors. More wood pigeons than I'm happy about, but they don't do a lot of harm and I find their calling very calming. They are the most inept nest builders ever, I don't know how they survive as a species. Our barn swallows didn't make the return trip from Africa last year and would be here by now if any of their offspring were coming. The swifts should be here in a few weeks. Their shrieking as they chase insects up and down the street is the sound of summer.

this has been going on for a very long time. There have always been a few book and magazine publishers take the trouble to include full on-page credits amd many book publishers who would include a page of credits at the back of the book. Sometimes it's just down to art directors and designers who make their own rules as they go along. American and French publishers tend to behave better than here in the UK. Similarly, most agreements stipulated that the publisher was supposed to supply two copies of the publication. That was also ignored 90% of the time. Some agencies kept a few tear sheets for photographers but most opted to keep photographers distant from end users

Geoff Shoults; web-site easily found, email address supplied. The PM function within the forum was quite useful but there were some who took liberties we were told

good news and very nice to hear from you Betty

It was on the TV as a re-run during the geriatric hour recently. I had a look for a few minutes but to be honest, I'm not sure it survived the test of time well

Tontine, a strange concept, thankfully long out of fashion, but as Danny suggests, more a literary intrigue rather than reality. Before the less grisly era of life insurance. Mind, in this current desperate times of afternoon TV, I despair of being bombarded with life insurance ads. Those and the wretched gambling gambits; back to the gardening!

I can see where one of these hankettensage tools might come in handy, especially where something was growing up close to a wall, but sandals and bare legs? Are you out of your mind?

The rates are more commonly quoted as so many per thousand, although the maths are not a challenge. It is usual to be paid 1/3 up front/on signing the contract. 1/3 on delivery of text, and 1/3 on publication. You don't throw in the photos or illustrations. Negotiate a duration and agree on fees for extensions

Yeh, chainsaws and ladders are a poor mix. I've got an electric reciprocating saw with a 10 inch blade which makes short work of 4 to 6 inch branches and I don't mind using that up a modest ladder with somebody holding the bottom. Rope the top to the tree if possible. Hats, gloves and safety glasses are all worth the trouble. You never see a pro without them!

I well remember my first encounter with cycle lanes in the Netherlands most of 40 years ago. I was driving my big yellow campervan so was very visible. But I really wasn't aware how the special rules worked and upset quite a few cyclists when I came to turn across their lanes. They undoubtedly had right of way but I was not prepared for the fact that they would peddle at some speed through intersections without considering that the prat in the UK camper might be a menace. I didn't have any really close calls, but I did encounter some filthy looks, nay perhaps a shaking fist. There are a LOT of cycles on those lanes! Mind you, The Mile End Road in London is getting pretty hairy. The cyclists tend to have lights and are increasingly wearing some hi-vis gear but there are also a lot of muslim pedestrians dressed predominantly in black who can be hard to spot for occasional visiting motorists.

Alpaca poo is best! Seems far less weed. I do like a fresh little carrot plucked when perhaps 4 inches, no cooking needed. Pots sound a good idea. I could try some rocket that way as they get devoured by little flies as well. Snuggled up near the chive forest in the herb patch perhaps. I'm told they don't like the smell of anything like onions. Yes growing corvettes, mine were yellow last year!

Both my father in Canada and father-in-law in St Albans were keen gardeners and had clay and stone soil. They struggled a big part of their lives and managed to grow stuff against the odds. I have had a patch of rich river-bottom dark soil and struggled against weeds for years because I didn't put the time in. I do have the time now but don't grow staples. Potatoes and Carrots? No, so cheap and plentiful in the market. Sweet corn (it's always over-ripe and rubbish in the shops) runner beens (just about ripe) young broad beans, small corvettes. It's not about saving money, it's about providing the table with something better than you can buy from the shops. Raised beds: why on earth would you? Most years I have hundreds of wonderful pears, last year I had perhaps a dozen. The trees are nicely in blossom now, no frost please! Champion autumn Raspberry patch which is a happy accident. They just grow and grow in completely the wrong conditions. If I had crap soil, I think I would just grow fruit and grass and put up a greenhouse.