gruner wrote: Might be just me Jade but I can't think why a reasoned discussion of a deterrent could offend. I believe in free speech and feel that some areas of society (Universities with their "safe spaces" for example) are becoming oversensitive and opposed to dialogue & debate. I hope the thread stays It's in "Coffee break" after all.   ... View more

gruner wrote: Jade wrote: Hello Tom @Lidl I'm sorry if this may cause offence and that is not what I intended. Please remove the thread if it is a problem.  Jade Might be just me Jade but I can't think why a reasoned discussion of a deterrent could offend. I believe in free speech and feel that some areas of society (Universities with their "safe spaces" for example) are becoming oversensitive and opposed to dialogue & debate. I hope the thread stays I agree. If Lidl/Tom is to become so ridiculously touchy/feely I want no further part in this. ... View more

harryflatters wrote: our pink Himalayan salt Huge amounts of a very similar substance are available all year from yellow bins dotted around the country at the roadsides. ... View more

Jennigee wrote: I just wanted to apologise to anyone who mentioned me in comments before my last few, I forgot to tick "email me when someone replies" which, of course, coupled with my appalling memory, meant that I knew nothing about them till today when I updated my profile etc.  I promise you, I'm not that rude  I do hope I am not rude, but I do not go along with replying to everyone all the time. It's sort-of-a-discussion-forum IMO not some sickly sweet thing dripping with glodden syrup.... :) ... View more

Please do not be distasteful. ... View more

Aha! Jolly good!   That reminds me that I must go out and get some of the wild variety (bilberries, whortleberries, call them what you will...).   These things (both sorts, blue & bilberries) are supposed to be good for the eyes (retina). ... View more

That's the spirit! ... View more

Lidl is a "Baufix partner". There is a Baufix online offering for when it's not in Lidl shops! :) ... View more

Tarantula wrote: And I hope when you quit @JamesFurze, you put the items back and not just dumped them anywhere like some impatient customers do. That is more annoying then waiting in a queue. Did you not know that the British invented waiting in queues and friendly discuss the weather and other irksome things of life like queuing. People dumping stuff all over the place is a different problem. I do not know why they do it. I suppose it's because they pick something up and then decide they don't want it after all, and just leave it wherever. If I decide I don't want something, it goes back to the proper place. When I left a whole trolley full of stuff, due to the hugely excessive queue, I gave the trolley to the deputy manager, and told him he was welcome to it. Waiting in queues is one thing. Causing problems for customers is quite another, as well as being **bleep**' bad business.   Edit: The "bleep" was for a word like "dashed"! :) ... View more

Tombola wrote: Green day passed me by. Where and what is it ? If its as in the green party I support their beliefs Crikey. Their environmantal stance seems passable, but the rest of it? Wow, bonkers!   However, I suspect that's a topic for other forums :) ... View more

The newsletter's good for finding out about new "specials" & what the "pick of the week" are. There's nothing I particularly dislike about them, and "competitor" newsletters give nothing extra that I can see.   Can it really be improved? Change for change's sake does not seem to me to be a good idea! ... View more

I bought some McEnnedy "American way" maple syrup.   It's Canadian.   :) ... View more

You want a mattock.   You could get one of these (Bulldog Mattock Head):   And one of these:   For the princely sum of £12.67 (Toolstation). Put the shaft on the handle. "Bump" the head of the handle down on something solid, a few times, to get the handle fast on the shaft. Then go at it! ... View more

I'm not proud, I'll drink anything. Tonight I have had a few tins of Lidl's cheap lager, and some Etcso Spanish white stuff. A-OK so far. What about "Nikka" whiskey? Nice! ... View more

Eccles wrote: In response to other comments recently read I should add that I use the littel Lidl sponge/scourer pads to actually do the job - the scourers are not hard enough to scratch the glass. With regard to fuel, yes of course one must use logs which have been "seasoned" which simply means that they have been left to dry out properly for at least 6 months. However, I do not restrict myself to ASH which can be expensive and not always easy to find. I use what ever my local tree surgeon has available and do my own cutting/splitting with a chainsaw and maul. That said, one must avoid burning resinous woods such as evergreens and pine as my chimney sweep tells me it will eventually gum up the chimney and become a fire risk. Yes, plastic scourers are OK (still, watch for sand!); I will burn anything on the woodburner (haven't tried the Rayburn's Welsh anthracite though...), even softwood boards sawn up and bundled. The important thing is the burning temperatiure; I have a flue thermometer (not sure where it came from: "Workzone"); the bottom of your stove pipe should be 175C or near. No problems yet :) ... View more

homebaker wrote: Cleaning depends on your glass, we did try a Brillo pad but there was a vary hard strand of metal in it and it still left some scratches in ours so we've avoided them since.   (snip)   Agree re well dried wood, it's the best way to get a clean burn, Ash is the only wood you can burn when it's freshly cut but it's still better left under cover for 12-18months. @Tombola@User1     It should not be possible to scratch glass with a Brillo pad, or wire wool generally. Brillo's rather less hard than glass generally, and compared to borosiliicate (Pyrex, etc.) it's 1-1.5 less hard on the Moh's scale.   Perhaps some sand got into the mix somewhere, as indeed it can when ash is used as a mild abrasive cleaner.   Ash seems OK on an open fire, but last year I filled my boots with (genuine) ash, described as "seasoned", but pretty green, which turned out to be virtually useless on the woodstove. I had to laboriously put it through the Rayburn to kiln-dry it, one ovenful at a time, a day or two per oven full, what a nuisance and waste of time. Still, no woodworm to bring into the house.... :) ... View more

Tombola wrote: Wood ready cut is unbelievably  cheap in the highlands around £60 a ton? I can get 5 tonnes of firewood for £200.   Sounds good?   Well, actually it's green, so say bye bye to a good portion of the 5T. Also, it's in 8' lengths, si needs to be sawn, seasoned and split.   Not such a good deal.   I guess a reasonable deal aroundabouts would be £180/T for careful people. or maybe a little more. ... View more

Tombola wrote: Wood ready cut is unbelievably  cheap in the highlands around £60 a ton? Mostly its larch and birch, ash and oak are not prolific in this region so would be expensive. @Eccles@homebaker@User1 Nothing wrong with larch or birch - in fact, with the huge bubble in stove popularity, we're actually importing large quantities of birch (yes, consider *that*); also, we're importing pelleted biofuel from the 'States, a really ecologically stupid thing to do! ... View more

Tombola wrote: A new fact was learned  by me this year. A tree felled in summer will have maximum sap, flowing as high as 80%. the same tree felled from end October on will have a moisture content as low as 20%. I got an excellent moisture tester at Lidl, every stove owner needs one and a carbon monoxide detector is a legal requirement  in Scotland. @homebaker I have a large willow branch to deal with, from a recent weekend, after it fell off. It's a PITA but I will burn it. It's probably about half water. I have one of the Lidl moisture testers too; it's interesting, but after a while you can "just tell". A learning aid, perhaps!   I think anyone who has a stove, range or open fire and does not have a CO detector is extremely silly. Aren't I being polite! ... View more

Tarantula wrote: Don't grind my gears - Laughed Out Loud -LOL What is IMHO? and TTFN - Oh do get a life. What numb scull got hold of a keyboard? Then again every child over six nowadays texts and text speak all the time. I honestly think it stunts their mental growth. Most are quick at texting but cannot hold a simple conversation. Know what I mean bro/sis. @Tombola, @Stixxee, @harryflatters Most of these things have roots decades old. Tommy Handley, for instance, used "TTFN " over 70 years ago. "Text speak" arguably started in the '30s with Telex machinery, and got a big boost in the '90s with the advent of SMS, that in turn after the success of Usenet in the '80s. "Text speak" should begin to fall out of favour now, as communications methods improve - for instance, if one enunciates clearly, speech-to-text is now quite useful. The problem with "the youth of today" is gently declining standards, foisted on us by a great mass of unwashed "liberal" teachers and their methods of the '70s and '80s, whose products now have children of their own, and are being taught by the aforementioned products themselves - "Who teaches the teachers"? Quite a vicious circle of negative feedback. The problems are compounded by the nefarious use of computers in schools and the home; "there is no need to learn when the answers are available at the press of a button", it seems, so information goes in one ear and straight out of the other, and is not stored; the reason for the illitriacy you perceive.   Anyway, it's late now, so HTH (YMMV). ... View more

I tear a Brillo pad in half, and use that with a bit of water. Polish up with some kitchen paper. Dry the Brillo and it can be used quite a few times. ... View more

JamesFurze wrote: I am not aware of any Lidl with self scan As far as I remember the one in Kempston, near Bedford, in the Midlands, (an appalling branch) has these. A member of staff supervises people "doing the dance". Not for me.   ... View more

JamesFurze wrote: I have exncountered the queueing problem both mid morning and early to mid afternoon.We do not have an Aldi nearby but I wonder if their customers have the same problem. Is it a German thing? Certainly not from my experience of shopping in Germany.   I am not aware of any Lidl with self scan or under 10 items tills. Lidl *USED* to be fast. However, it's so awful now at the majority of branches I have visited, I'm on the verge of saying "Oh eff that" and going elsewhere. It's due, IMO, to bag-packers and slacking by Lidl managers. ... View more

JamesFurze wrote: Update - Plymstock branch. Today there was a record 4 checkouts open out of the 8 available but it still took 12 minutes to get to the front of the queue. A step in the right direction perhaps. 12 minutes!!! Unacceptable. you try standing still somewhere for 12 minutes and seeing what it feels like, Mr. Store Manager.   Another opportunity to mention bag-packers and their deleterious effects. ... View more

What on earth is "simply cashew nuts"? Is that code for "substandard"? ... View more

JamesFurze wrote: Our local LIDL (Plymstock, Plymouth) is so understaffed (or mis-managed) that usually only 2 of the 8 checkouts are open and each has a queue of 8 to 10 customers and you can wait from 10 to 20 minutes to be served. It really puts us off going there when there are nearby alternatives. We have complained to Customer Service but with no effect.   Is this the experience of others? Yes, I'm afraid it is. I visit various Lidl branches, and at three of my "regular" ones, queues are a huge problem. People moan about it, too, justifiably I think. People should not have to wait 10 minutes or more to pay for the stuff they have chosen and put in their trolleys. I mentioned in another post someone leaving all their stuff. I have done the same last week, but at least I told the manager of the branch, and why. He was welcome to the token in the coin slot.   You are right. There are alternatives. I like Lidl, but if it's going to go on like this, it will lose reputation and more. ... View more

Tarantula wrote: My spuds are in big pots and they are flowering now. I say, steady on! ... View more

The inside of the thing does not seem to need cleaning, BUT the detergent/conditioner drawer develops mould. Pull it out, brush it off, unbung the various channels, put it in bleach, when needs be. ... View more

Tombola wrote: Not a lot of people know this. The Stonehenge stones were originally in Stirling in Scotland but Oliver Cromwell, using captured cavaliers as slave labour, had them moved to salisbury plain for his army to use as tank targets, he lived in a back to back in Swindon as his dad was a railway fitter. @Duchess @harryflatters @Tarantula @Flossy @jade @tommiesgirl   Are you sure about Oliver Cromwell's dad? I thought his dad was a lid twister in a raspberry-jam factory? Retired in about 1987, didn't he, and still has a sideline job advising the British Association of Runner Bean Winders?? Anyway, I've heard of all this dog-napping that's going on, and it makes my blood boil. Poor things! Tank targets! The RSPCA will be furious! ... View more