It could also be your running gait / style, often brought about by incorrect shoes / incorrect or excessive engineering of the shoes.

And a significant amount of free electricity during the summer.

It’s quite interesting that the EPC assessors don’t appear to have a particularly good grasp on the energy market. I’d certainly be suggesting researching the feasibility of an Air Source heat pump for most properties now. They work in a very different way to a boiler, but if the property is suitable they are a very sensible alternative to a condensing combi boiler, especially with the likely spiralling costs of gas as a heating fuel.
Whilst there is a considerable initial investment, a combination of Solar PV, Solar Thermal and Air Source heat pump could be worth very serious consideration.
We installed an air source heat pump and are about to install 3.4kW of solar PV. The PV will effectively heat the house and hot water all year with a net heating bill of approx £0.00 pa.

It’s going to be something that you should be able to sort out with the aid of a good podiatrist / running shop.

Many running problems can be a result of over structured and engineered shoes. Much of the current thinking is devoted to loosing structure and reducing heel lift to promote a natural mid/forefoot strike. This encourages the bodies own biomechanical structures to operate correctly, absorbing shock and strengthening bones and soft tissues in the foot and lower leg especially.

I had a similar issue with my knees after 6 – 8 years. I wrote a little piece for my local running shop giving my story. It’s pasted below if anyone’s interested in reading it.

Evolution to Minimalist and Barefoot running

Firstly, just a quick note about me, just to put your mind at rest. I am a self employed electrician and Solar Photovoltaic energy installer, not a bearded hippy barefoot evangelist, but someone who has come to understand and enjoy the benefits of minimalist style running. Here is my story.

Up until about 5 years ago, I didn’t ‘run’. Until then, I had concentrated on mountain biking, competing in the Polaris Challenges and generally riding in and around the peak district. Also supplemented with general fitness and strength training, courtesy of British Military Fitness (BMF). A friend suggested that the Tough Guy in Wolverhampton might appeal. It did. But, running was my Achilles heel. I just didn’t enjoy anything about it. It was time to knuckle down and get on with running. Without which, I’d probably end up with hypothermia and fail at the Tough Guy.
So, off with the cleats and on with the running shoes. I invested in some Inov-8 Mudclaw 330s for the TG and BMF. Great shoes that work, and do what they say on the tin.
After a few weeks, of aches, discomfort and sore legs, imagine my surprise and the realisation that something had changed. I was both enjoying and looking forward to running. This continued, to the point were I would get round the Tough Guy. Then, disaster. A torn calf the weekend before. TG postponed for a year. Enforced rest followed, and eventually, the legs would work again. Once again, I went through the discomfort threshold and began running again.
I discovered running off road and my enjoyment of running continued to grow. But, at a distance of 6 – 8 miles, my knees would start clicking and giving me a lot of discomfort. Not pain exactly, but enough to slow running down to a miserable trot or hobble.
I came to realise that the problem was the shoes I’d been using. They were name brand consumer shoes, purchased from a well known sports supermarket outlet, chosen because the felt ‘right’ in the shop. So, the decision was made to go to a proper running shop and get some shoes that would sort the problem out. After an hour or two of trying shoes on, running away with two pairs of new running shoes. A pair of New Balance 759s for the road, and New Balance 840s for trail running.
I walked away happy that distance would be no longer a problem. It was immediately evident that both pairs of shoes were a great improvement on those that had been retired. But, the knee issue had not been vanquished, merely delayed by an additional couple of miles.
At around this time, I had heard an interview on the radio with Christopher McDougall, talking about barefoot running, the Tarahumara, injuries and his book, Born to Run. I was intrigued and promptly went to Waterstones to acquire a copy. It wasn’t in stock, but arrive the next day.
The book was spellbinding. A great tale of exploration and enlightenment, but most of all inspiring. If you haven’t read it, do so! The next day I decided to give this barefoot thing a go. The immediately surprising thing was how little it hurt. I was fully prepared for lots of discomfort but it wasn’t there. Yes, I could feel the ground and different textures but definitely not pain. I think I ran a couple of miles and it felt good. Very good.
However, the next day, my Achilles and calf muscles were very sore. I was aware that this could happen, and that learning to run barefoot was going to put additional stress and strain on feet and lower legs especially. With hindsight, I think I did too much too soon, and would have benefited from a more gradual progression to full barefooting. I am sure that my legs suffered less as a result of sailing, in particular a 49er that requires a great deal of active balancing on the balls of the feet. The result being stronger ankles and ligaments than may otherwise have been the case. This coupled with BMF and the exercises and drills made my reasonably rapid transition to natural style running quite swift. Nevertheless, the aches and pains lasted for a couple of months, off and on. Not wanting to risk another injury I didn’t barefoot when my legs were feeling very stressed.
Whilst making the transition to barefooting, I read websites and forums and watched various online videos. One of the results was making some huaraches following the plans on Barefoot Ted’s website. Why? Because I had discovered that running on ‘improved’ surfaces, crushed rock for example or country roads surfaced in tar and chipped stone was desperately unpleasant to run on. The huaraches provided enough protection with their 5mm sole to allow comfortable running virtually barefoot.
Throughout all of my barefooting to date, I have also run and trained in shoes.
I quickly realised that my running style had change completely, even when shod. My favourite shoes became the New Balance 840. Now I was able to comfortably run 20 – 25 miles without any issues with knees, feet or any other joint.
Moving on, the story continues with another injury. Caused wearing shoes, but not I hasten to add, cause by shoes. Running one Sunday evening in December, I went over badly on my ankle on the ice. This coupled with additional injuries cause as a result of running again to soon caused a break of about 3 months.
During the enforced rest, I was luck enough to visit a discussion hosted by Accelerate at the Sheffield Action Film Festival, title Minimalist Running. Representatives from shoe manufacturers were in attendance, together with a podiatrist and an athlete who runs barefoot. Without going to great lengths to explain, my conclusion was that the footwear manufacturers were working towards the minimalist idea, but having to add support and structure to many of their shoes in order to justify their research and marketability of their product. However, one of the shoes on display made a very strong impression. The New Balance Minimus Trail felt very similar to the huaraches that I’d made the previous year. Sadly however, there were 2 samples, both left feet and both the wrong size. The shoes were due to be released later in the year so I’d just have to wait.
Since getting my pair of the minimus, they have been the only shoe that I’ve worn, road or trail. Having said that, I am doing more barefoot running than ever, and enjoying it more that ever. Enjoy, that’s the important word. Minimalist running is so enjoyable. It is a very relaxing way to run and travel. I would certainly recommend that you give it a try. I realise that the idea of padding along on the roads fills many with trepidation and fear of standing on glass or stones, but in reality, this doesn’t happen. Eye and foot co-ordination seem to do a pretty good job of avoidance. I do however suggest that you get some pointers on how to do it, find a smooth piece of tarmac, not grass, and give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Am quite impressed with the candor of both the Murdochs at the committee.
They are doing what I wish our politicians would do, answering questions.

Try Brocklehust in Bakewell. They do a very good suit.

Barefoot for me now. Unless shoes are ‘required’, as Sharkbait will confirm.

Don’t be tempted to switch it on before the time suggested on the instructions. The adhesive needs time to cure properly. Early energisation could result in incorrect adhesion of the tiles.

I’m a big Pratchett fan, and really enjoy the DW series. I prefer the earlier books personally, particularly the Witches and Guards series.

However, IMO his best book by far is Nation. Sheer brilliance. He’s used all the beauty and skills honed in the DW series and created a whole culture on an Island. It isn’t one of his mainstream books, but is well worth a read.

Top Gun

A couple that I can remember off the top of my head.
1. At ‘Codename Charlie’s’ house during Mav’s first date, the level in the bottle of wine goes up before it goes down.
2. My personal favourite, during one of the take-off sequences at Miramar, the port and starboard lights on the wings are reversed.

Thanks Martin.

A bit of a late-comer to the party. Any chance of an invitation?
jerry AT myhomepowerstation DOT company DOT united kingdom

Thank you.

Pizza ovens are quite easy to make. There is a section in the back of the River Cottage Bread book on how to make the. Also, other books dedicated to making the. Will locate the details if you’re interested.

Or get her to use Sudocreme. Works better that Assos cream for me.

Sharkbait’s words are worthy. But, he is meaning Porth Ceriad, not Porthmadog.
See you there at the ADW weekends Sharkbait.

Another two bods here. See you all on Sunday morning.

1. Whilst not a special location, electrical work in a kitchen is notifiable. As such, it is not a DIY job.
2. Sockets circuits in a kitchen must be protected by a 30mA RCD.
3. DO NOT leave live cables buried in a wall with no indication that they are there.

IF you want to do some of the work prior to getting an electrician to check the work. First find one that will work with you. It may not be easy.

DO NOT assume that just because a circuit is crimped / connected in a choc box connector that the circuit is safe and fully functioning. A ring circuit, especially one in a kitchen must be fully tested. They generally carry the highest load in a house.

In short, get it done properly, tested and certified. Your house may well not be insured if DIY work fails.

Building Regs is Building Regs. For better or for worse. Better I’d say.

If the house is being completely rewired, Part M regulations should be complied with. Additions or alterations to an existing installation can be placed to match the existing layout of the house.

Have you had a Periodic Inspection and Test(PIR) conducted on the property? Have the electricians you have spoken to told you why it needs rewiring?
It may be that they are trying to save you the cost of a full inspection and test if the outcome is obvious. As others have mentioned, it may be the cable type, the insulation resistance of the circuits or a number of other reasons.
Older lighting circuits are often installed without an earth conductor. If so, this is a very sound reason to have the lighting circuits replaced at the very least.
A PIR is the only conclusive way of getting the installation assessed.

Chasing does make a mess, but is necessary to do the job. It is quite possible to run cables behind picture rails etc, but takes more time. Cutting channels in concrete floors is also a sensible solution.
As an aside, I have done a job recently where the property owner took out the existing concrete floor because it was a massive heat sink. They now have an well insulated, damp proofed and level concrete floor with underfloor heating.

I am a NAPIT registered electrician in Sheffield. Please feel free to contact me if you want any further advice or electrician speak decoding.

Jerry
Eco Electrics

No thanks. It’s got fussball ballerina written all over it.

Do it. BF running is great. I started after reading BtR too. I already had some VFFs and tried running in those initially, but preferred proper barefoot.

For longer distance, I made some huarache sandals from sole material from the local cobbler and rope. They appear to be a really good compromise for offroad running. Still prefer BF on road though.

Did a half marathon BF last year. Felt really good too.

I do wear the VFFs alot though and if I’m not at work or BF, I wear those as shoes, *when required*.

I’ve just been looking on the happy donkey website, as I also have the filter with the single hole, I’ve spotted the bottomless filters; are they worth getting?

I got one of these a few years ago. Entertaining for a while and great to watch, but tends to spit and make a mess. IMO, not really worth it in unless you want it as a gadget.

To the OP, I had a similar problem with spitting and leaking around the edge of the porta filter. As others have said, the reason was the grind was too fine. Backing off a couple of notches on the burr grinder sorted it out. Tamping pressure makes a big difference too.

The guy with the tattoo and bandage on his sleeve was right handed, and was holding the gun in that hand with rolled up sleeves.

The shooting was done by a left hander with sleeves rolled down.

The only left hander I could see in the episode was the detective. My money’s on him rescuing Harry, but making it look like he’s bought.

Don’t know if it works for newer generation iPods, but this works with my 2nd gen. version.

In iTunes, set the ipod to work as an external hard drive.
Make hidden folders visible.
Browse your iPod folders. You will find a lot of folders with odd names that contain the music files. From memory, the folders have a letter and a number to name them. The files won’t have the full names, but they should be obvious from the file extensions.

*IMPORTANT* Copy these files to a new folder on your computer. Then, make a separate BACKUP copy of the whole iPod in a different folder, just to be safe.

Unplug your iPod.
Get iTunes to Add Files from a folder. Point the import tool to the root directory of the music files you copied from your iPod.
iTunes will rename the files, add artists, album names etc when you it adds the files.

This does not import playlists unfortunately.
Once you are satisfied that you have all the music on the new iTunes you can then sync the iPod.

If all else fails, you still have the music on your iPod.

Delete the files on you PC when you feel all is well.

Heard this at a carol singing session. Very funny. Try singing it. To yourself if necessary…

God Rest Ye, Unitarians

To the tune of “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”

Gods rest ye, Unitarians, let nothing you dismay;
Remember there’s no evidence there was a Christmas Day;
When Christ was born is just not known, no matter what they say,
O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact,
Glad tidings of reason and fact.

Our current Christmas Customs come from Persia and from Greece,
From solstice celebrations of the ancient Middle East.
This whole darn Christmas spiel is just another pagan feast,
O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact,
Glad tidings of reason and fact.

There was no star of Bethlehem, there was no angels’ song;
There couldn’t have been wise men for the trip would take too long.
The stories in the Bible are historically wrong,
O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact,
Glad tidings of reason and fact!

Have fitted Nokian WRG2 M&S Winter Tyres. Can thoroughly recommend them. However, winter tyres are like hens teeth at the moment. Any winter tyres will revolutionise you car’s handling and abilities in the snow and cold.
Basically, if you can find some at the right size, and a sensible price (or not if you need them), get them fitted.
Also, check in your handbook. It may recommend a different size tyre to the standard size. For example, mine said to fit 185/65/R15 instead of the summer size of 195/65/R15.
Haven’t bothered informing my insurance company, because I have fitted the winter tyres recommended in the handbook.

No need to clear the runways, just use a large conveyor belt.

With the aircraft’s brakes on…!!?

Convert +1

Personal responsibility. For everyone. Including Daily Mail readers.

Christmas starts for me on the first Sunday after Armistice Sunday.
There Sheffield Local Carols are sung in pubs from then. Not your normal dull carols mind you. These are fun, lively and truly part of a very old tradition. In many cases, the carols and tunes pre-date the ‘normal’ ones sung in carol concerts.
By the time the real Christmas arrives, you are well and truly in the ‘spirit’.
A couple of examples here.
The sound of a whole pub full of people singing is extraordinary!

Try ringing them and telling them that you are at a customer’s house. Have the oven model and element model ready. They will probably answer you then.

It sounds reasonable, I am not going to give you a direct answer. I wouldn’t want to without testing the earthing arrangements of the cooker. I guess you’ll understand why.

The new element should come with fitting instructions. If it doesn’t come with an earth attachment, it should be a Class II fitting, and will have two concentric squares on it. If not, it is class I, and therefore needs to be earthed.

If I was doing the job, I’d be calling the technical support line at the manufacturer to get their correct advice. My *best guess* would be to secure the earth attachment to the part of the oven that surrounds the element. The oven should have good earth conductivity in all the exposed conductive parts. The oven should have a good earth as part of the electrical installation for the property. A sparky will check this at the time.

Note, the word ‘should’ is used specifically. Don’t assume it is true. If the oven is old and designed to have an earth on the element, it may still need one.

Fay Hield

Used to have a lovely Overbury Pioneer back in the 80s. Until some protoscum broke into the garage and made off with it.

The temperature should be above 65deg for at least 2 hours (I think) per week. Any lower and there is a risk of Legionella in the water tank.

For heat pump systems I’ve fitted, a 7 day programmable timer on the IH boost the temp once a week to achieve this. The thermostat is set to 50deg for everday usage for the hot water provided by a heat pump.

Hora, if you want to change the way your dog behaves, do as funkydunc suggests.

You must treat him like a dog. An animal. Not like a human. He is a dog.

Walks on the lead. Walking to heel. Stictly walking to heel. Be VERY firm with your voice. You must assert your complete dominance over him. So must your wife.

When he is not doing what you want him to do, be verbally agressive. A gutteral Arrgghh sound should convey your displeasure with him. Conversly, when he behaves offer simple praise and a pat.

DO NOT let him up on the sofa with you. Make him sleep on his bed. Impose your will on him. If he is aggressive or boistrous, again chastise him verbally. But when he is good praise him.

Don’t go soft him, or he’ll think he is higher up the pack pecking order.

If you do want to go down this route, it’s going to feel like you are being cruel, but if fact it is kind.

Not winter tyres, but I got a set of these Klack and Go snow chains last year. Very quick and simple to take on and off.

I live in Sheffield, so more than a couple of hills. When the snow came, getting around hardly took any longer than normal. The side roads were deserted and I could get up and down any sensible hills. Avoided coming down the stupidly steep ones though. Starting and stopping on the hills wasn’t an issue. Less expensive option than the tyres, not as good in intermediate conditions, but do the business when it counts.

Impressed. Too right.

Now, head torch and gloves are ready in the snow chain box. Bring on the snow.

Oh, and a bonus. If fitted to a front wheel drive car, playing with the oversteer is just brilliant!

Respect. Always worry about wrists and jaw on the steepest part of Cavedale.

Make sure that the drain hose is at the correct height above the machine. If the end of the drain hose is too low, the water will drain out of the machine by syphon.
If the drain hose is pushed down the drain pipe this can happen.

No; we just have different levels of comfort, and some need more heat than others.

We get used to different levels of comfort. Some like more heat than others. We certainly don’t *need* it. It’s only relatively recently that central heating has given us the option of unseasonally warm or cool temperatures.

To answer your question directly. Fitting sockets with circuit built in RCDs or any other form of circuit breaker will not sort out you problem, unless you happen to rectify the fault in a socket whilst changing the socket fronts.

As has already been suggested, the fault is almost certainly due to a breakdown in the insulation resistance between the conductors. If you don’t have an RCD fitted, and the circuit trips the MCB, I would suggest that the fault is between the Live and either the N or Earth.

In either case, you need to get the fault traced and fixed, so let your landlord know that there is an electrical fault and that the house electrics are unsafe.

Don’t try and do it yourself. The circuit sounds like it should be fully checked and tested. You won’t be able to do that without the correct tools and knowledge.

To follow up what others have said, it is not a legal requirement that the electrical installation must be tested and certificated annually in the same way as the gas installation must be. However, the maximum recommended period between inspections is 10 years. The electrician who inspected your installation will have left a sticker on the fuse board / consumer unit saying when it was last inspected, and the recommended date for future inspection. If it doesn’t have a sticker, I would draw the conclusion that it has never been inspected. If that is the case, your landlord should, get one done. Failure to do so would mean that your landlord is in contravention of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 that require “that precautions be taken against the risk of death or personal injury from electricity in work activities.” These regulations also cover electrical installations in the home.

Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Got mine set to 13 deg. Don’t see the point in having it hotter than a cool winter’s evening.