Captain Oates

RIP Grizou Thank you for your kind thoughts, everyone. SC, you are quite right about cats and holes! Our neighbour's small kitten thought it was a great "Wall of Death" game, and who needs a motorbike when you can run like lightning! We were forced to finish the excavation using miniature hand tools in order not to chop him in half.

I spent an hour or so this afternoon digging a very deep hole in the garden in which to bury our little cat. He was only 14 months old but was no longer able to eat or drink as a result of multiple cancers caused by the feline AIDS virus which he had had probably since his birth. Following a (false) negative test result a month ago, today's diagnosis and sad ending was rather a shock. He was a gentle trusting friend and is very much missed by the humans in the family.

Phew! Just got it in. I hope.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

But you can still 'flick the switches on however many times you like' - no 'sodding about' with them necessary - so surely you just walk on in, flick the switches however many times you like, and you will find the one that controls the light? LB, the switches are outside the room. You cannot see inside the room when you flick the switches. Only once you've finished flicking them, can you enter the room to see the result of your switch flickery. You cannot nip back out and have another go once you are in. Ah, well it didn't say the switches were outside the room, if it had said that in the first place I would have known the answer. Hmmm... It doesn't say that the switches are outside the room, nor does it give any reliable information about the original status of the door. May I suggest that Strata the Psychedelic snake be given a snack of Red Herring to console him for any distress suffered when the light is switched on?

5 Digits in a Zip Code 9 Judges on the Supreme Court

Melons

My curiosity has driven me to this! Please may I join your game?

Your prejudices are starting to show, M - time to adjust the hemline. Yes, that was a very off-color remark Mono... Somewhere along the line, this proof-reading task has been ill-defined; someone has not used their brain before requesting the work and has thereby caused frustration and irritation. We are all aware that American English and British English are two different languages - the spelling is different as is some of the usage and grammar. Which brings me to my offering for Room 101: Bosses and other "superiors" (do inverted commas invert the meaning of the enclosed word!) who waste their employees' time by providing wrong, insufficient or misleading information. As an example, I have recently worked for a company who paid me at a rate based on the use of data and equipment which they said they would provide and then refused to provide. Cheats and robbers! I'm not very surprised that this happens (deliberately?) in the work that I do (low-paid, no option but to do the work or starve) but I see no reason why Mono should not complain loudly when it happens in the way she has described. There should be no excuse for such communication problems at the level of intellectual endeavour in which I understand her to be involved. And the Editors should also know better or be sacked.

Can I add HBOS for a second time? Due to an error, a BACS payment due into my account didn't arrive, leaving it just over £1 short to pay a direct debit, HBOS have bounced the DD and inform me there is no way to override the cancellation even though I spoke to them first thing this morning just as the computer rejected it, plus they will be charging me £35 for this. I could understand if it was something that happened regularly, but I'm never overdrawn and I've never not had enough money in my account to cover outgoing payments. Now I have the pleasure of trying to recover the bank charges from the company who 'forgot' to pay me in the first place, I could scream with frustration . There is no reason why the bank could not simply refund the charge to your account. The important point is to speak to a supervisor and don't get off the phone until they have agreed that it was not your fault and that you should not be penalised and that the charge is therefore unfair and that they would like to keep your business! A certain amount of agression is required, not directed personally at the supervisor but at the system. Captain's Mate rarely pays charges for such things!

Thank you to all those who left me birthday greetings. I'm still here (for further details see Google Earth) and watching from a safe distance, now that the internet works again at last!

They were not alone

concealed beneath unmarked squid

I have received PMs from you - always very respectful and I have never found them intimidatory, but I'm fairly thick-skinned and not easily scared. I can understand how some people might regard your PM style as intrusive. Also, I was alarmed when you once quoted content from a PM from someone (can't remember the details but it was ages ago) in the public forum. I'm sure you would never do that again. Neither have I been in chat for about a year but we have been in chat alone together so I am aware of the risks! Folk have long memories. ( ...er the sanity or otherwise of any DLer is another matter completely!) I think of you as a guy and would be somewhat surprised to discover that you were a female but I can't prove it! I used "him/her" as an illustration of the uncertainty of anything on the internet. Will you be attending the next DL Convention?

I voted keep him/her. If he/she abuses the PM system or intimidates other members in chat, I would prefer that he/she was banned from using these media only. It is the responsibility of each of us who use the internet to ensure our own privacy to whatever degree we each choose. In any case, it would likely be impossible to keep him/her off the site without also banning most of the residents and workers of New York, or wherever - cf One Man Jury.

Have another six of these and find out if you are then inspired to create any magnificent film music...

Thanks AtJ. Wonderful performance! Such a useful little tune...

Twitter!

BS, you are a master of irony ! ? I'm impressed. Sort of.... (Yes, I read Godot's post.)

After-effects of a House of Lords dinner? More than likely dead drunk.

ditto

It has the colour given as blue but it's the most amazing pale blue ever! It glows yellow in the sunlight. NAP, that's a strong selling point - if I had the money I'd buy it just to have it parked outside my window so that I could gaze in admiration. Sadly, I'm skint.

Happy Birthday, DDT!