Captain Oates

Sit Dangle in a tree and miaow! The tree may not look very high but the cat has been stuck about 30ft up there since at least 5am when I was awoken by half a dozen crows screaming around her. There is no obvious route down the tree as the trunk has a slight twist and there are no branches. If anyone is in South East London with a suitable set of mobile ladders, here is your chance to help out some unknown cat-owner. RSPCA is alerted and are considering the options at the moment. UPDATE: The RSPCA will do nothing for 24hours!

Anyone remember this one?

It's an anagram of TB. Another day and another 60 IP addresses later, no progress except in my proficiency at clicking off and on again to the router so that the data stream can continue. hey Cap. couldnt help but notice your little connection problem. my PC at home used to do that all the time, just throw me offline about six times a night, sometimes not connecting again for hours. i bought a wireless router to use the laptop upstairs, and i havent been disconnected since. i always thought a new router wouldnt help but it has been brilliant. I've been thrown off 12 times since 10 past 6 this evening - and every time I get back on , it's a different IP address! I suspect that it's something to do with BT trying to provide a "faster" (actually slower but wider) connection by somehow moving the connection around between servers. I think it's called 'interleaved' mode. 'Fast' mode is "slower" (actually faster but narrower) but only works within a certain distance of the exchange. Please will somebody correct me if my (rather vague) understanding of this is all up the spout. What I really can't understand is why they need to give me a faster connection when I was very happy with the one I had previously. I feel as if I'm being used as an experimental resource while they try to sort out their technology. Incidentally, no-one called back from the line fault department within 24 hours as they promised they would do. RM, I use a wireless router, BT Voyager 2100, which works well! The data connection problem is the same with Ethernet cable or wireless and also if I use my old USB modem. Having been through all the trouble-shooting stuff that I can find, I'm fully convinced that the problem is with the DSL supplier. The bit that really annoys me is that even if any of the charming Indian "help-line" call-centre staff actually know how I can put things right, they can't risk telling me about it because it's not in their script!

It's an anagram of TB. Another day and another 60 IP addresses later, no progress except in my proficiency at clicking off and on again to the router so that the data stream can continue.

Message to TLC, whom I was chatting with just a minute ago. Sorry for the abrupt departure. It's that dreadful ISP that I'm stuck with. they change my IP address every few minutes and all data transfer then stops. Then when I got back into the forum, the chat box wouldn't let me back because it thought I was still in it. But I'm not! I daren't try updating any Java at the moment because of the data transfer problems that I'm having, so I'll just have to sit outside.

A certain (un-named, of course) British telecommunications/internet provider that changes my IP address several times each hour on the pretext of improving the speed/service, thus throwing me off-line. I then have to disconnect and then re-connect with my wireless router (just repairing or refreshing won't do it) and lose whatever work or download is in process. The 'help' line seems to be based half the planet away from where the problem lies and calls back within the hour, only to advise in scripted step-by step idiot's-guide form to 'disconnect and then re-connect' - with insistence on using IE, which won't work anyway because of it's own problems - and then a constant repetition of the phrase "It's working fine now? Good, then it will work, so that should be alright." I tell them what the problem is, so.... ....as it's a 'very excellent, user-friendly, will-do-everything-in our-power-to-help' type of help line, they call back in two hours to check that it's still working! (It went off again within minutes, of course.) Same process is repeated! Well, I thought the second time round they might try an alternative! What a load of crap! I could blame the hardware, but it all comes from the same 'provider' - the hardware 'help' is no better! W**nkers! Expensive W**nkers!

I went to Luxembourg for it and we had totally too. However the only thing I can really remember of it were my dad's false teeth shining when I took his photograph. We had made our way to Augsburg, in southern Germany, also on the path of 'totality.' It was a fine afternoon, we had enjoyed a good lunch and were on the road to somewhere (looking for afternoon tea, I expect.) The skies were almost cloudless until nearly totality, when quite quickly the storm clouds gathered and the rain came down. We had pulled into a large grassy layby to take photographs and were soon joined by the occupants of several other vehicles all intent on the same purpose. Umbrellas and waterproof jackets were shared, we took souvenir photographs for each other and all moaned about the sudden cold and wind in an assortment of non-mutual languages. As total darkness descended, the clouds cleared often enough to get a good view of the event and as soon as it was over the good weather was restored and the 'dawn chorus' serenaded us back to our cars. A splendid afternoon; rare natural drama followed by kaffee und kuchen!

Reislings are much maligned, it is the whitest of the white grapes and the latest crops of Reislings are quite good. ...but Rheingau Riesling is delicious! Yes, I know. Delicious wine is off-topic!

Charles Lane has had his chances of surviving the year reduced alarmingly by my omission of his name from all my DP lists, so I've voted for him.

88,336 (and counting...) by members and plenty more by the other lot!

No, but I'll send my pet lobster along. Good idea! Lobsters are probably not prohibited from taking photographs inside the V&A.

According to that article, he is booked to open the 'Surreallism: Surrealism and design' exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum on Thursday 29th March (not sure what time the opening is, though - they are selling tickets by half-hour slots!). I'm busy that day - can anyone else get along to that?

Thank you, Mr H, for leading me to this exquisite refinement, guaranteed to make breakfast guests wonder just what's in the marmalade!

Does this help?

Here are three that sprang to mind when I saw this thread. Stardust performed by the composer, Hoagy Carmichael. - not the famous and excellent studio version but live at Olympia, presumably many, many years later and still in the same key. Notice the appearance of George Melly's jacket about half way through. It's interesting to note that Charles Trenet also wore the hat! Blame Canada! All the female voices are performed by the late Mary Kay Bergman.

I think what you've discovered there Windsor is a parallel universe. Whatever it may be, they seem to take the possibility of Roger Moore's demise more seriously than we do here.

Joey Pyle. Report and Pics at the website too. I couldn't get the gallery link to work but I found some more pics here. What puzzles me is that I can find no St Theresa's in Sutton! The nearest I can get to it is Our Lady of the Rosary which is twinned with St Theresa's in Malawi! But the pictures don't match. There is a Parish of St Teresa's in neighbouring Morden, which has a school but no church!

Wasn't he in Birds of a Feather? I know she is a bit of a munter, but she is a woman! Who are you calling a munter? Is there a DL web-cam facility that they're not telling us about? Is she your wife/sister etc? Better keep smiling when you say that! .....back off slowly .....then run like the blazes.

Take a look at the moon right now! If you're in the UK, it's really pretty - dark with a bright shiny bit. I'm off to gaze some more...

Gareth Morris, celebrated English flute player and brother of the writer Jan (formerly James) Morris, has died.