Yes, dry brush it. It needs to be damp but not wet to do it, and the brush must be dry

Some areas of the wall may never fully dry especially in winter, but don’t worry. It will make those areas very easy to identify

If you can, get as much old paint off as you can, assuming you haven’t already

Limewash is the answer. You’ll never stop the damp but limewash will let it pass through and your dehumidifier will reduce it

Very easy to make limewash,  buy some powdered lime from a builders merchant and mix with water to a full fat milk consistency. If they only have nhl lime get the lowest they have eg 2.5 not 5. Lower has better permeability.

Use a fence paint type brush, allow to dry between coats. Each additional coat will make the whole lot translucent until it dries. Minimum 3 coats, more the merrier. Last coat, burnish with a dry brush all over just before it dries, this will stop dusting off.

20 quid will make enough limewash to last you out!

If you want, put some colour pigment in for fun.

You can buy ready made, it’s pricey but good. You’ll probably want to water it down to the right consistency. Too thick tends to crack

Bookworms

I can sit for ages at Chester Zoo watching them. Wonderful animals. A mother once brought her baby right up to the glass when I was sat watching them. I placed my hand on the pane and she did the same. It made me cry and is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. What’s happening to them in their natural habitat is a **** travesty. Humans are a set of utter bastards.

You’re the orangutan, right?

Lee Anderthal

The proverbial child in a mans body. The buffoon turd of the times.

I hope rish! stays on til the bitter end, the infighting reaching a screeching crescendo as they claw each other’s eyes out come the general election and slip slowly beneath the waves leaving nothing but an oily slick of shame

Vote early, vote often

I think as a versatile mid layer fleece is excellent. I have been revisiting my old kit cupboard and found a couple of largely unused fleece jackets that got jilted in the primaloft love affair, and to be honest they are really damn good. A montane jacket in what you’d describe as 200 weight in old money is particularly good as an all day top, with a shell for windy outdoor shopping or hill trips

I can also sit in a pub or at a function without looking like a wannabe mountain hard man

The one thing guaranteed is that life won’t turn out the way you expect

A mate of mine used to say that all the time, and as I’ve got older it seems to become the reality. So try and embrace the ride. As posted up there, life is messy, there’s no real straight lines.

And lastly even the dali llama worries.

Perchycougar +1

Yaris. Loads on the market, pensioners favourite. 1.3 vvt will give 53mpg no bother.

Buggerynothing tax, 20 notes iirc

I render professionally albeit with lime however I have used system renders that have been specd by architects

I have rendered on to osb boards but we are talking small areas that have also been covered in stainless expamet render mesh that is nailed tight to the structure. The osb construction was within a larger block building and was therefore a rigid section of the whole build. I wasn’t terribly convinced but that’s what architect and client wanted, and it has stayed intact for 8 years so far.

I’ve used render systems onto wood fibre boards, again these were covered with a nylon render mesh. A more convincing construction overall. As far as I am aware they are ok and client happy.

Would I render direct to timber or OSB? No.

Is it diyable?  Well yes but like a lot of jobs, getting something on the wall is easy. Getting it looking good and likely to last is another matter. There’s also the time needed to do it, decisions about how you apply it, tools and mixing apparatus. It can get expensive quite quickly, so always look beyond the headline price of the options you are considering. Your cladding option might not actually be the most expensive

that Peat and Diesel track up there is effing ace and perfect for driving through the islands! Makes me laugh every time I hear it

I work on the islands a fair bit and get to stay several weeks, I love it. Don’t miss out the east coast, the wildlife is superb and the view back to Skye, Rum and the mainland is fabulous. Have watched the short ear owl come by every morning like clockwork, its very impressive

Oh and the fishmonger in Balivanich is ace

Proportional representation in some form.

This would be the important first step. But I am generally of the view that a large part of the electorate does not really understand the nuances of the fptp system, and so there needs to be a significant campaign to raise awareness of that. We see more talk of lords reform, yes, important, but it deflects from the issue we really should be discussing.

That, and increased investment in punctuation

Back to the drawing board

The perfect campaign slogan right there

The poor people of the parish, they must wonder what the **** they did wrong

i wanted varifocals and had some for a while but they just drove me mad – ive got wildly different lens strength left/right. I basically use one eye and it felt like my field of view was really shut down with varifocals. I went back to single vision and am much happier although I need readers too. You develop strategies to cope though.

I have contacts for biking and hill walking

TJ +1

proper seat/stool is very helpful, MIL got one after an OT assessment and it is really good. Its fully adjustable for height and angle, and very stable

We got a set of large grip cutlery  but they went down like a lead balloon and have never been seen since.

MIl was very resistant to changing lots of stuff so we found one thing at a time worked best. Some things we just gave up on rather than create a stooshi  by forcing it

Double post

Not especially rare around these parts

It’s all been said above but i’d say go in november, see what you think on a rainy afternoon. And also go in the tourist season, easter onwards the visitor taps open

Ive lived in inverness, Leith and Fort William. They are all fantastic places in their own way, but by christ the rain on the west coast

Some mothers do ‘ave ’em

Will give them one more chance but might just succumb to some very cool looking Fujitrabucos that I’ve seen for half price, as I’m now also querying whether my left achilles will adapt quickly enough for 120km of backpacking in zero drop running shoes 😂

I went straight into a 3 week walk with a pair of zero drop Altras. To be fair I didnt actually know they were zero drop, but they were fine!  No pre-existing condition though.

I walk a lot, I rarely blister but long all day flat sections are likely culprits if I do. Tiny little toe blisters, although I have learnt that not cutting toe nails too short prevents them. Absolutely no idea why though!

I like a thin sock, possibly with a coolmax liner underneath although if its a hot climate then probably not

Hoover cars would be better as they could collect litter as they went.

yeah, 101 it.

We reported bad driving to the popo, driver in question had no mot either so they were very interested and paid him a visit.

Ive got the full armoury of makita drills for work. A combi drill with a good bit is very handy and I will often reach for it for smaller holes. Going bigger gets you into breaker territory which is either pricey or less versatile.

For 100 notes Id search out the best combi I could find. It’ll do a lot. If you need something bigger for masonry, a corded sds.

Personally ive found the makita 18v lxt to be superb, im tied in to the system now but they do everything youll need, including spare parts

ive done both sides once, skiing and kayaking. In both instances I had physio, the second time I went private and used a football physio who although medieval, did get me back together pretty well and gave me some good lifelong exercises

The kayaking injury was very difficult to deal with mentally as I was an obsessive paddler and could not contemplate not paddling while I healed and also potentially not paddling again. I was therefore obsessive about the exercises and I have not dislocated again in nearly 30 years. I have had a couple of twangs in very bizarre situations but that is all – I still do a specific crucifix stretch that he gave me.

Its a head game though, in the early days I would look at particular move on a river and think, mmm, thats going to strain my shoulder. It’s hard to deal with that kind of thought process, my method was just to paddle more and do more exercises until I put more and more distance between the injury and ‘now’, until my shoulder got stronger and stronger. It’s definitely not held me back, I paddled much harder grades as I got more confident (and wiser).

It sounds like his second dislocation is almost a freak incident – I can understand how it has happened but it seems very difficult to predict a dislocation in those circumstances. Do you know what sort of dislocation it was? I was able to identify the exercises to specifically target my shoulder weakness. TBH I went exercise mad, I was doing 20 pull ups every couple of hours, 50 press ups, theraband stretches etc etc all evening. 6 or seven hours paddling at least once a weekend, maybe twice

I was veered away from strapping as it was suggested if I needed it strapped, it wasnt strong enough. This was a long time ago, things may change of course.

for the last fewyears here is my walking shoe list

3 consecutive pairs of Haglof Vertigo gtx – great shoes, bit low on padding but excellent in mountains. Always split at the forefoot crease. 2500km on the first pair

1 pair Scarpa Moraine gtx – excellent grip and comfort, both shoes split after exactly 300km, money refunded

La sportiva tx4 gtx – basically excellent and bombproof. Grip is a bit weak in muddy conditions. Gtx and uppers refuse to die

La Sportiva tx4 gtx mid – boot version, excellent all round boot as above

La Sportiva boulder x – nice stiffish shoe with decent sole and nice walking action. Bit narrow so sized up 1 size

Altra Olympus 5 – super light and comfy, amazing grip. Dry really quick, probably ended gtx liners for me outside winter. Fall apart as soon as you get them out of the box, always carry stormsure glue to repair them. Wide soles can be annoying on narrow singletrack paths

Never Mind those. We’re talking about knives.

underrated post

burning reams of paper is pretty hard plus the ash is something else, ive been there with an elderly relative. But you can get a decent shredder for not much, then flog it. You want a cross cut shredder that will do cds/dvds. Its the quickest least messy way unfortunately. Shredder has actually been pretty handy so you may decide to keep it in the end

Soaking in a bath of water is an option if you can deal with the papier mache hippopotamus you will be left with

im using decathlon winter hiking gloves, they are very impressive. not too thick so good dexterity.

Just finished Berlin:The Downfall 1945. Compelling reading and an absolute must if you are in any way curious as to how the third reich ended. I thought I had read enough about WW2 to never be shocked again, but by christ was I wrong.

xl27 is one of the best tools, splits like a demon but also great for shrub root removal and similar tasks that a mattock isnt precise enough for. Its easy to resharpen and not being precious, it gets hammered. Sadly I once forgot to remove its dainty little scabbard and watched it shatter into a thousand shards of orange plastic as I drove it into an elm ring

That plus a good long splitting wedge covers everything unless the hydraulic splitter is in town

Also got a razor sharp Helko Werk for hedge laying and fingertip severing, and an old MOD job that looks rancid but splits kindling like a dream. Could really do with a new handle that one

my general rule is to put aside all items that are not definite keepers. Put a cover over them or put them in a box. After a week, if I can remember whats under the cover or in the box, it can stay. If not it’s out so goes into the recycle/sell pile

Alternatively watch stacey solomon’s program and realise how lucky you are.

got a worx for work, very robust and works despite extreme filth and neglect. Its an older model, original battery died so bought a new 5a? I think, tremendous kit. It’s not powerful enough to clean a car, I believe newer brushless are more powerful though, if that’s your bag

Would recommend

you really want to maximise as much sun as possible. Try and work out which area will get the most sun and plant there. I have a low 1m fence on my southern boundary and it really limits growth in its shade

Raised planters are worth considering to get out of the shade

it’s such a good album, I got into it via some digweed Northern Exposure and never looked back.  At the time pre social media it felt like you were the only one in the world who had discovered it, lovely feeling

I had a mix tape with dirty epic on it for driving to work. I cant drive down that road without hearing it in my head

Nairn. I’m not even joking

our dog made it to over 17 before he died, that’s collie lurcher for you. Spent his last night on the floor beside him, he died as the sun came up that morning.

nearly 5 years on I still see him out of the corner of my eye. I see him down a track in his favourite woods, but of course he never comes close. He was part of our life for a long time, in fact sometimes you can’t even remember if he was on a ride or not, he was just part of the group, silently tabbing along

dogs are indeed awesome

Bit late to the thread and it seems like pretty much all has been covered already but judging from your last photo of the wall head, you have a bit of loose rubble up there that is probably going to need addressing sooner or later. . If you do nothing else I would go up and remove the loose material before it comes down on it’s own accord. The vegetation growing in the joints is a good indication that water is getting in to the wall, medium to long term that is probably going to need addressing too

Once it is established that some repair work is required , nobody will be claiming it’s their wall!!

I have a 2 person vango branded one but I suspect it’s a generic model with vango decals. It packs small, like 2 tennis balls in a sock although i tend to pack it loose in a backpack pocket and stuff it in after using it.

They are absolute game changers in bad weather, it gets most use on scottish winter hill days where it is invaluable for food and rest stops. In an emergency it would give you precious time. In a heavy rain storm it is superb, and once in they warm quickly and you can get your extra layers on out of the weather, eat, read maps etc

Mine has an integral stuffsac but it is pretty tight to pack hence stuffing it into a pocket on my back pack. It has a window, sort of useful but not a deal breaker. It is def 2 person, a third could get there torso in but that is all.

I also have a 4 person one but never really use it, its light but bulky. And I only have one friend, so superfluous

spareroom.com was what i last used, but also word of mouth

For everyone’s sanity, set up some simple paperwork detailing what they are getting as lodger, what part of the house they can access etc, what the rent is. You can get a template lodger agreement from Shelter website, amend as appropriate. Make yourself aware of obligations you have in terms of giving notice etc etc. There’s good advice on Shelter as to what right’s a lodger has

Ive had 5 lodger’s over the years, all have been great apart from one who was a dick but always paid on time.

A good way of screening candidates is to get them to call and leave an answerphone message about themselves, what they do for work and play etc etc. If they can do that as asked, and they sound like a possible, then arrange to meet.