Friendly chat

Yes, very often Helen or to look to see if there is another picture ! A question I want to ask. You know the food packages that have a little corner that says pull, can you get them to work or do you still finish opening the pack with a knife ??

A knife (if available) every time. Or sometimes, I use my teeth to start a tear. 50% of those wretched packets do not work. One of those designs that doesn't do what it says on the tin. Talking of tins, what about those aluminium cans with a ring pull? Occasionally, the ring breaks off in your hand at the rivet. Then it's' a case of getting a large screwdriver or some other tool to bash an opening in the top to get the contents out.

Oh yes. Or the other extreme when they do work but open too much of the packet and you can't close the end without taking more than you wanted out of the packet.

Good tip about using your teeth Slim but I am of an age when I can't always remember where I left them. With tins I find it best to ignore the ring pull and open with a tin opener.

Especially messy when it's a can of tuna!

Just read Planet Sports ratings for last nights England game against Malta. They say that Harry Kane "stood out". Must have watched a different game to me??

A quick question for our "overseas" members. On the TV throughout the year we get lots appeals for contributions to different organisations. Water Aid, Donkeys, PDSA etc At this time of year, there are lots more with increased requests for more monies. My question is. Do you also get these appeals?

I'm not aware of anything in particular in Australia, Mick, but then I'm pretty good at finding something better to do when adverts are on TV! My bugbear here is that we are bombarded with gambling ads night and day and throughout any major sporting show - it's disgraceful!

We do get some on the T.V. but most of ours come in the mail all through the year. In about September they really ramp up starting at about 4-6 a day and right now we're getting about 10 a day and it's still November. Plus, some of them include gifts, calendars, 6 christmas cards, socks(!), notepads, address stickers (useful), dreamcatchers, all sorts of things. I bag most of the stuff up and put it on our local free for all site and they're gone in hours so someone uses it. I wish they'd put the money spent to use for the charity. We donate to food / clothing banks, scholarships and a wonderful group who give gift cards to children when they need clothing which they can then choose something they really need for themselves without feeling like charity cases. You really have to watch for the con artists.

Hi Linda and thanks. I think the only thing we get through the mail is when we get an empty plastic bag for unwanted clothes. This is then collected by the Air Ambulance.

With so many signing up to the mail preference service and a change in the law about selling data, charities have lost a lot of leverage on the public. I still get a few items from the postman but they not targeted. I won't give to charity unless it's through a shop. I resent the begging letters if they get my details. I don't mind one off donations but direct debits are a no, no. The latest activity is charity lotteries, which I'm less offended by. There are few charities that I trust anymore. I'm a lifetime member of English Heritage and the National Trust but due to their political activities I wouldn't give the National Trust another penny.

I often wonder how much of our donation actually gets through to the needy and how much gets taken up by admin? You only have to look at the Captain Tom charity to see how the monies are spent, and that was by his daughter. I'm fully with you on direct debits and monthly payments. When we are away in the UK, I always donate to R N L I and Mountain Rescue. Also noticed there are lots of requests now to leave a donation in your will !!

When we had a hotel one of our guests, who was a man who travelled a lot, told us a story. When travelling in Africa he had a stopover at Lourenco Marques. At that time there was civil war in Mozambique. Whilst in the airport he saw a plane arrive with aid from a charity for the population. Another plane arrived from Russia with arms for the war. The cargo from Russia was unloaded and the cargo from the charity transferred to the plane returning to Russia.

I was just thinking of 'family traditions'. One that seems to have stuck with our next generation is the 'three minute rule'. We were competitive kids and we fought for the most comfy seat that wasn't Mum or Dad's. This meant that if you had to get up for anything, someone dived in. To avoid dangerously long stays and damp patches, the rule was you could go for a quick pit stop, so long as it didn't take longer than three minutes, after which the seat transferred ownership. When my brother first caught his toddler in his spot he issued the cry 'I haven't been out three minutes!' and the kid automatically got up, without really knowing why.

Payment for the arms perhaps?