Around nine or ten years ago I got a Thermomax water heating system installed.  In theory these should provide the home it is fitted to with loads of virtually free hot water, and since the only moving part in the whole system is a pump of the same type fitted to an ordinary boiler, they should be reliable.  It was not cheap, but at that time the tubes came with a 20 year warranty, so I thought at least my investment was pretty safe.  Some chance!  Thermomax went bankrupt, and were taken over by Kingspan, who naturally would not stand by the guarantees made by the old version of the company. After leaving university many, many years ago, I briefly worked at the Thermomax factory when they were still based in my home town of Bangor.  At that time each tube was an independent unit, using a refrigerant gas to pass heat into a manifold that was connected to the hot water tank.  The factory used to test the tubes by attaching them to clips on the outside...

Forgive me reader, for I have sinned.   Many years ago (well three and a bit to be more precise), I did a very stupid thing.   I voted leave in the Brexit referendum.   It is not something I am proud of, and as soon as the leave result even looked likely I was already wishing that I could have changed my vote.   So some explanation/ penance is due to every other person on the entire planet for forcing all this rubbish on then on an almost daily basis for the last 1,168 days (and counting).   If you have read my previous posts about Brexit (https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2018/11/brexit-dirty-word-in-any-european.html, or https://oldandireland.blogspot.com/2019/02/brexit-revisited.html), you may be surprised that I voted this way. It’s not completely my fault, (says he trying to cover his tracks).   The politicians and every bit of media discussion on the vote seemed to be saying that remain votes would be the overwhelming majority.   I don’t ...

If you have read some of the other posts hereabouts, then you will know that we  enjoy   walking.   While the fresh air, scenery and exercise are the good parts of this, there are things and people that you will come across on any path that are downright stupid or just plain annoying.   A few of my pet hates are below in no particular order.   By the end of this, you should be able to picture me in full grumpy old man mode, red faced and fuming.   Dog walkers who don’t pick up after their pets.   I’d rather be free to look at the scenery when walking rather than constantly watching where I’m placing my next step like I’m in some sort of minefield.   This problem seems to escalate during the dark days of winter.   The path is less well used at that time of year, hinting that there must be some owners who only pick up when they think someone else is watching.   Thanks assholes! A related problem are the dog owners who pick up, bu...