My son is a watch collector and is gutted the secondhand G-Shock GD-B500 his Dad bought him has a scratch on the strap. We are struggling to find a replacement - can anyone point us in the right direction please? I confidently said there'd be loads about...but none that I've found seem to be the same as the original? Thank you
The brick patio around this pool has sunk just around the pool, the rest is flat and stable (bar the occasional loose one). There isn't the funds to replace the patio, so I'm wondering what we could do to level it out and make it less 'trip-hazard'-y? Could we remove a couple of rows of bricks and level the base with concrete and re-seat them on a more level base? Or could we remove this row of bricks closest to the pool and replace them with something else, to leave a smooth incline to the pool edge? I think it will still be a bit of a bodge and replacing the patio would be ideal, but if it makes the patio safe then that's a win. (Obviously the mortar needs replacing too?)
I've hired kayaks several times (when there's a trainer person about to help if needed) and now have my own. I thought it a good idea to do a safety course before heading out on my own/with my child. Now, having done the Paddlesport Safety and Rescue course, I don't know why more people don't do it - it literally saves people's lives. Why don't people want to be safe on the water?? I know training doesn't mean people will always make good decisions, but at least they'll make informed ones.
Especially, people taking other people/children out should have training. If my child's other parent wants to take them out on the water without training, they can, and there's nothing I can do about it. Risking your own life is one thing (although arguably you are also risking the lives of emergency services and other water users who might have to come to your aid), but if you're taking others out then I think you should have training. I know this might be an unpopular opinion but in general us UK folk seem to have quite a poor approach with safety when it comes to water...(e.g. lots of us die each time it gets hot, and those deaths are mostly preventable)
Hi everyone,
Can anyone review any of the following books or suggest alternatives? I'm looking for walks in the South East, ideally the South Downs, which are accessible (car or train), reasonably easy to follow (my 11y old will be the navigator, an OS map which requires a compass to be used would go down well, but also need decent instructions to avoid getting lost), dog friendly, and up to 5 miles.
I've found these books:
- OS maps Short Walks Made Easy (seems perfect, but are they all busy popular routes? We all prefer less busy routes, to feel like we're exploring rather than joining the masses)
- Walks for All Ages; 20 circular walks in the South Downs (can't find any review/further info)
I'd usually just plan the route on an OS map but as I have child and dog with me, I'd rather have a more predictable route/outcome!
I had decided it would be cheaper to build my own duckling growing shed so my garage doesn’t get taken over each year…until I found this. I’m in the UK, I don’t have a van but can get timber delivered, but no discounts or access to free timber. Once timber is priced up, I don’t think I’d be able to make it cheaper than this, or build a better shed for the same cost. Am I right?
8x6 shed, single door, apex roof, windows, 12mm tongue and groove cladding, 34x44 timber, water based preservative;
https://www.rainbowgardenbuildings.co.uk/shop/shed-sizes/8x6/8x6-apex-shed-single-door-windowed/
My son picked this up for £40 ($54) in a charity shop today. So far we’ve learnt:
- it’s an Olympia Filia from 1934-6, lots of them were made so they’re old but common
- it needs new tape but otherwise seems to work
- the platen is probably hard: can use with backing paper and/or replace it
- it’s DUSTY! The typewriter wiki suggests using air mainly, I think some careful use of Q tips will get to most of it
We will research how to oil it - but does any existing oil on moving parts need to be removed first?
Any tips very welcome! This needs to be a DIY project as funds don’t stretch to professional refurb.
My son (11) collects (rescues?!) watches, often from charity shops. He got this for £7 today and we’ve struggled to find much out about it. It’s unusual to a digital clock face?! Also any tips on if there’s anything he can do about the scratch (I think it’s beyond the toothpaste trick and that’s the only one he knows?!)
It's renewal time. I'm conscious that while I haven't ever claimed, if I did, the 'hassle' factor of dealing with a claim would likely feel quite overwhelming and stressful to me. Are there any companies who are actually decent to deal with in these situations? A lot of cheaper quotes are 'Essential' or 'Online' and either don't provide ANY phone customer service, or work through Apps (which doesn't suit me), or have poor customer service reviews.
Has anyone had a good experience of dealing with a claim?
My 6S is still a good workhorse phone but I’ve been given a hand-me-down SE and plan to move over to that.
As a relative Luddite, what do I need to know about before swapping and is there a best way to move over? I have a hundred or so photos still to upload elsewhere, rest are on iCloud, so not worried about photos moving over. Notes, I have many…I assume they don’t move over? I’m quite embarrassed that my parents did this swap years ago whereas I have resisted, I hate change and tech frustrates me 😂😬
Can anyone with psychological knowledge shed light on this? What are the pros and cons of kids reading books with potentially traumatic or anxiety-inducing themes?
For example: Alex Rider books are really popular with 11+ kids, but the protagonist (a kid) witnesses murder, is attacked, chased, shot at, drugged, drowned etc (and it gets worse in later books apparently). Kids love reading them.
Is this their way of processing awful things?
Is it appropriate for them to be learning about such things at this age?
Does reading about such things have a subconscious effect on their emotional well-being (even when they enjoy reading the book)? I know I’m more prone to anxiety when I read about real life tragedies, and my brain is fully formed!
Is the advice different for each child - would a child prone to anxiety have more negative effects from such books?
Would love to hear the science behind this!
First trip to Mull and this camera got a lot of use - often just passed over to my son (11) so he could enjoy some amateur photography without worrying about equipment. The presets for landscapes, portraits, motion and macro were used a lot. I am pleased with the colours, the light in Scotland is special and I feel it captured that well (included is a photo into the light across water, which I think it managed quite well). The silhouette puffin shot could have been awful, what with the white/light/dark/shadow mixtures, so I was pleased how it turned out (we had a few overexposed puffin faces when they turned into the sun and it reflected of their cheeks). For such an affordable, tough camera, it did the trick. I can imagine if you had time to get to know it better (ours arrived days before our holiday!), were more experienced, shot in raw and edited the photos, you'd get some amazing shots. These are neither raw nor edited and some of them were taken by a child - pretty good results I'd say.
I've also included a moving carousel horse and washing starlings/goose (to demo motion setting), and a day-old chick in low/unnatural lighting because it's one of the hardest things to photograph close-up, in my experience! They are fuzzy and do not stay still!
I cleaned up my Gmail account. I removed spam, promotions and trash. Since doing that, I’ve been unable to find important emails - initially I assumed the issue was with me, but I’ve since found that the emails I’m looking for are still there, but they’re not showing up in a Search.
For example, a ticket for a ferry crossing is present and contains the ferry name, but when I search under this name, it doesn’t come up. Same with emails to colleagues - can’t find them searching for their name or email address, yet emails are still there when I search through the day I received it.
It means I can’t find eTickets for events/travel that I booked months ago without trawling through hundreds of emails.
what can I do?!
I'm travelling on the Caledonian sleeper with my 11 year-old then hiring a small car. He is 140cm tall and currently still fits his high back booster seat, but I'll have to negotiate London, the tube, Oban etc with child and 2 sets of luggage. I won't manage carrying a high-back booster seat! Do you think a booster cushion will be OK? I am always a stickler for safety so it feels uncomfortable not to have him in THE safest seat...What would you do?
What are the current best ‘classic’ PAYG deals? Like o2 classic, where you put money on the SIM and it stays there until you spend it. No monthly costs. Which actually have decent U.K. coverage.
This is for travelling - treks/boat trips etc I’ll probably just have a brick for emergencies. So something I can chuck £10 on for the trip, then leave in a drawer for months before I next use it.
I’m taking my ancient iPhone 6S travelling. Obviously its battery runs out quickly. I’m looking for ways to preserve battery, and top it up.
Preserving battery life during the day I’ve come up with:
- airplane mode
- battery saving mode
- using my digital camera instead of iPhone camera
- any other tips?
My current battery bank is this ancient one. The info has rubbed off - does anyone know what make it is, and what capacity it has? I’ll be able to charge my phone each night so just need something to help it limp through the day.