declanwmagee

No no no, Great Britain is the geographical island. It's Great because it's bigger than Less Britain, which is Brittany. A bit like Great Missenden. Pre 1921 it was the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland. After partition it became the UK of GB & NI. No part of Ireland is in Great Britain, and that's geography, unchangeable, regardless of political boundary drawing.

Well, it would have been a darn sight more expensive if she'd got proper trench digging people in from the water board (people who would shore up their trench properly, Peter! ), rather than the itinerant freelancing hippy next door...

Good for you, 400! I spent 9 hours down a trench looking for a mains water leak, so I'm a lot scruffier than any posing pop star, and... ...I found it! This is nearly 5 feet below ground level !

are you still a rolling stone, 400? how does it feel..?

I fixed someone's computer for a pouch of baccy the other day. Got to start small if you want to change the world. The trouble with bitcoin, and the like, is it still totally relies on the Matrix to keep it going. Far better to get on with your neighbours, help 'em out when you can, and soon enough they'll help you in a way you'd never have thought of. No coins required, not even pretend ones, and if your neighbours are within walking distance, no reliance on machinery, power or fuel either. A neighbour of ours, big posh house and 40 acres with it, has had to cut her water off while I try and find a mains leak under her peonys (!), and my goodness, that brings home how reliant they've become on being spoon fed by the system. Now they have to: burn wood for heat (like us!) bring water in in containers (like us!) piss in the bushes (like us!) It'd be hilarious if they hadn't gone on holiday and left us looking after the place, so now we're rambling about in this mansion, living exactly as we normally live in our little bus.

Isn't that (theoretically) what PayPal is? Nooo... PayPal's just another bank, 'cept it's owned by eBay. Which is ultimately owned by the banks via venture capital I expect.

I have read about it, I think it's a fantasic concept, quite democratising, but haven't tried it. Why don't you be the first and let us know?

Yes, Great Britain is the island, as opposed to Less Britain, which is Brittany, contrary to popular opinion, NOT Ireland

I'll use it. Buying a (second hand!) Krause was on my "one day" list, but it ain't now. It's bookmarked.

That's the fellow, Mr Accumulator... I've never found one before, and I've looked at a darn sight more than 5, so I'm with you on that one. Then 6 turn up in the same Jiffy bag. I must do some number crunching of Mr Court's paper - I do have it, but I haven't given it the attention it deserves!

Now here's a thing. Ever since getting Mr Groom's excellent Bronze book I've been looking for a 1944 2+C* Penny. It's not in Freeman or Peck, but Gouby distinguishes them. Never found one though. On a hunch I bought a group of six 1944 pennies, described as UNC by an American seller (big stamp dealer by the looks of it). They're not UNC, of course, but they're decent enough. Now they've arrived, and blow me, all six are 2+C*. I wonder if, like the 1943/44 silver 3ds, the distribution of microvarieties was a regional thing? I suppose if the West Indies used British currency silver 3ds in the '40s, they probably used bronze pennies too.

We're under Great Britain! Apparently the UK is in the Eurozone, but GB isn't.

Good to look one coin up. I just tried to look down through a series I know well, and gave up after a couple - didn't have the patience!

I should, mate

top one hollow neck, bottom one flat/rounded? would you concur, chaps?

The book you need for them is called British Silver Coins since 1816, by Peter Davies, and I believe one of our regulars here has a stock of them...

Have a look at the I of VICT, wasp I to a bead = small lettering I to a gap = large lettering

and an interesting thread...

Cracking start Forna. Wish I'd started with coins that good. Look out for the 1823 with a Roman I instead of a 1 in the date...

...so the scratch has sliced a corner off the middle serif, making it look like it was curving upwards.

No but I do have short lengths of hosepipe lining the holes in the floor so the cables won't chafe when the engine is running. So nothing can go wrong.

I'm desperately trying to grow out of PVC once and for all, and I can see the point of slabs for storage. Perhaps the only crime is putting a grade on the label?

ought to be a law against it... Self slabbing

Anyone who knew anything about electrickery would have a fit if they saw my setup here: Long extension cable buried in a trench I dug under the yard, plugged into a single 13A socket. Other end has two outlets, one goes to the outdoor freezer, the other holds a plug dangling through a hole I drilled in the bus floor. That plug goes to a 3-way, 2 empty, one to a 6-way. That 6 way: 1) fairy lights 2) laptop 3) printer 4) speakers 5) empty 6) to another 4-way that 4-way: 1) doubler driving halogen and daylight CFL 2) laptop 3) camera 4) long extension going back out through another hole in the floor on the other side of the bus - for outdoor power tools and charging up the bus batteries. Combined with the propane and the woodburner, EMP would be the least of my worries!

Cripes they're good, Nick. I'll have to get the manual out for my camera and look up that aperture business, and the centre weighted thing. I understood the others. Just the one light source?