No quitten we're whelan on to chitchat 11

Considering his stud fee is £175,000 it must have been a sickening day out for the seller...

Stung three times on the elbow by a wasp today. I’d forgotten how painful it is.

Back around 99 I drained a low lying field that we used to call the bog. Got a man in to open drain along the bounds ditch, one deep drain using 9" conc pipes about 5ft and a few shallow stone and pipe drains. The farm over the ditch was growing maize and beet at the time. It actually grew prize winning sugar beet way back when.

I left the field to dry out for years. Had planned to lay it out this year as it was starting to go back to nature. A local man was tearing for beet ground so I left him to work it. He's here today pulling the fodder beet off it. A massive crop in fairness.

Meanwhile the farm over the ditch is growing trees. It was put into mixed forestry around 05.

So you drained a field in 99 and left it idle for 20 years?

Lassies and lads, tis the time of year to test your smoke alarms. Push the red button with a brush handle. Should have one downstairs and one upstairs at a minimum.

Don't rely on the alarm to bleep for low battery, doesn't always work, or might have been missed if a away for a few days during the summer.

don't forget the carbon monoxide alarms too now that heating and fires/stoves are beginning to be used again

And don't use a rechargeable battery in a detector. When they run low, the warning beep will not persist like a replaceable battery will, so you may well not hear the beep before it stops altogether.

On the ford ranger Albert, tell him to take a good sharp look underneath her, ideally on a car lift. She's seen a bit of tar since 152 & main roads have being getting a fair touch of salt in recent winter's & underneath is often overlooked by some.

There was a thread on the motoring forum a number of years ago now about a 2 year old Ford Ranger with a hole rusted in the drivers door sill. Struck me as a bad omen for them anyway. Mechanically on them I'm ignorant.

Even more salt then so on a uk motorway on a daily or regular basis. Bit of nonsense anyway when you see a ad talk of UK motorway miles.

Means nothing if the service interval for oil change wasn't met.sometimes when I see it in car ads in think "sure she was never off the road to allow time for a oil change"

Also warranty is void if not serviced regularly by main dealer

Watch out who you accept friend requests from, I know a lad that had to get the gardai involved after accepting a friend request from someone he assumed was in his breeders group, I can't put up to story but it got messy.

While no doubt there are pressures on, same thought entered my head, free food, be gone in seconds.

SVP had a food bank in a local town.

I know one couple who'd be fairly well made who used to go in for food. Not an ounce of shame or remorse taking it on someone else. Answer was if it's free take it.

I know of several examples of that down the country!!

As a fella i work with says "tis the best lads are on the dole and thats a fact"