George Orwell

Mayfly, the actual fibre optic cable terminates in the Openreach box inside your house. The cable cannot have sharp bends in it - only gentle curves. You will have a copper cable with several strands ( Cat5 or Cat6) running from the Openreach termination box to the router. The phones plug into the router - you can have extension wires pretty much as long as you want.

If it helps: We had a good experience with the installation of BT Fibre into the house. There is a plastic box on the wall outside into which the incoming cable runs. They then drilled a hole through our 225mm thick solid brick wall and fitted the final white plastic box (which needs a power supply) on the inside of the wall neatly covering the hole. Our own CAT5 cable runs to our own choice of positioning of the router. As it happens, I ran my own cable under the floor myself before they arrived, but it can be clipped to the skirting board if you want. To save trouble, I'd do that and think about a neater wiring solution later at your own convenience,

Please do your research about leaseholder restrictions and responsibilities. I would not recommend any purchase of flat in a LA owned building. It’s cheaper than in any equivalent privately owned block for a very, very good reason. Walk away - please find somewhere else.

In Eastern Europe and USSR in 1970s and 1980s it was standard to remove your own car’s wipers whenever you parked up - if you forgot …….they were gone.

How does one get hold of Vladi ?

We've had previous subsidence and renewing our home insurance has become something of a nightmare . . . . . . until I tried this broker. They were very helpful, it was hassle free and I got a very good price - even 15% less than last year. https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/household-insurance/

I needed a few heavy items moved to near Dover in Kent. I contacted Peter - 07427 271980 / VP Removals. He quoted a very reasonable price, was extremely helpful, punctual with his times and handled our furniture with respect and care. I don't think there is a better mover out there. Highly recommended.

In your living room on Channel 4.

Maggie did live in the house with hubby - if only for a short while. I could tell you true stories of the security detail in the converted adjoining garage and the Chinook helicopter incident over the golf course - but if I did, I’d unfortunately have to kill you.

[attachment=0]Moore Park Hotel.jpg[/attachment] Probably when Guinness was 3d a pint.

There are plenty of moans here about the mess and the apparently inadequate remedial measures being taken by the organisers and the council. Just think - who caused the litter ? I always take my litter home - maybe I?m just the odd responsible one.

Both I and someone else I know have recently each had a telephone appointment arranged for no less than 4 weeks waiting time.

The sound quality on most new TVs is pretty poor and you won't really be able to test it in a showroom. Budget for getting a soundbar or alternatively you may be able to play the sound through a hi-fi / stereo system (I do). As far as I know, each brand offers various common apps but I'm not sure every brand offers every app you might want. You might want to check. Unlike a phone, as far as I know, you can't add apps later. A thumbs up for Richer Sounds too. I'm not sure you want to be bothered about 4k quality - HD is good enough for me, certainly for a 40" screen, but each to their own.

Yes, I too will be pilfering water from my workplace. I'll take one litre of water a day and save 0.239p every time I do it. Do it every day for 5 days and you've saved just over 1p per week :-)

This should do it instead:

"Heat pump and radiators system was ?10,200 and "the resident would save around ?860 per year and a carbon emission reduction of about 4240kg per year." Plus several thousand pounds for insulation. Plus a few thousand pounds for redecoration. Maybe ?25k - ?30k in total.

It seems the Waltham Forest retro-fit is seen as successful. The cost: ?115,245

" Forest Hill Group practice were offering next day appointments to patients on their text list. Good service. " All well and good, but the text message says you can book online. Neither the practice website nor Patient Access has any flu jab ordering system - you have to phone or visit Fort Knox in person.

It'll all be over by this time next week when they've all filled their tanks and won't have used it much. I reckon most locals only need a fill up every couple of weeks at most. Or, order a new electric car and it'll probably get delivered around the time the UK has electricity power cuts in the winter.

On the theme of shopfronts - here's a ghost from the past - 120 Forest Hill Road

As the TFL website says: An annual ?10 registration charge will apply to each vehicle you add to Auto Pay.

"GPs are paid based on the number of patients on their books" Correct if you are referring to the partners - the bosses if you like. You say - "Hence, they don?t bother working full time because it does not effect their income. Whether a GP works two hours or twelve hours, there is no one checking on them." Wrong - salaried GPs which are in the majority are paid an individually negotiated rate for each session they work - a morning is a session as is an afternoon. A typical rate is ?9,000 pa or so per session, sometimes ?10,000+, so a 4 day week brings in maybe ?72k pa - ?80k pa. The partners work whatever hours they think are needed, filling in if say a locum can't be found as well as their regular hours and are paid out of the "profits" after salaried GPs, Staff, Rent, Utilities etc. etc. are paid for. Partners may be getting ?100k - ?120k +. PS I am not defending this particular GP practice - just adding information to the debate.

Around every couple of years or so I need wax removed from one ear only. Up until now they have always arranged an appointment for me to be 'seen to' by a nurse in the surgery. This time I was clearly told that they don't do it anymore. I was told to go to a large chemist or a high street hearing clinic and pay ?50 per ear. I said I'd complain - go ahead they said - it'll make no difference. Nice lot aren't they. I got in touch with NHS England who told me they should do it or at least refer me to a NHS ear clinic. I have given up, there's little point moaning and life's too short. I went to a high street hearing shop and got it done for ?50.

No help in this case of course but . . . . In advance of filming on location I've seen people putting out cones and keeping one man on the site, usually in some sort of fake official yellow jacket, staying in his car for maybe 24 hours - even overnight. He jumps out and moves cars along as needed.

The observation about not feeling welcome struck a chord with me. In the old (pre-Covid) days when you could walk into the surgery you could not help but notice all the negative notices. There are / were maybe half a dozen or more notices on the lines of . . . We don?t do this, we don?t do that, you must give 48 hours notice for this, stand here, don?t do that, we won?t tolerate this and so on. I?d often queue at the desk when the desk wasn?t manned (womanned?) but could see staff hanging around and chatting in the background. I can tell you it was not at all calming, welcoming or good for your blood pressure. They dealt with the chatting idle backroom staff issue by hiding them behind a half height door and I dealt with the blood pressure issue by buying my own machine.