What have you done today

[Asmith61]

Today one of the big bosses came over from Holland.
To officially tell us that they have decided to close our warehouse in the UK
So basically we are being made redundant at the end of March 2026.
At 64 it is not an ideal situation. Originally my Retirement was 65 but now it’s 67 !!

[2112]

That's a kick in the plums and no mistake ! On the bright side you've got a decent amount of time to decide what to do ? Good luck in whatever direction you take 

[UK_Vstrom650]

That's crap Asmith. Hope things work out for you

[nigel s]

Asmith61,
Good forklift drivers are always in demand , good luck 

[2112]

I would suggest getting an Independent Financial Advisor to have a look at you circumstances. I was very surprised when I had my 'numbers crunched' by ours and could retire at 58. You may be pleasantly surprised 


P.S. they must be fully independent to be worth a light...

[MisterDavey]

Hope it works out well for you ASmith61

[Asmith61]

Thank you all very much 
2112 I will get a independent financial advisor cheers for that 

nigel s I went to this job ( 17 years ago ) with a forklift licence, and we have had forklift refresher tests every few years, (last one was last December ) but I believe It was an internal one? Not sure if it counts for a new job ? But I will check it out 
It is a kick in the plumbs as the company has been going for 60 years ( it is still going to be operating abroad ) just not in the UK !!!!
3 more years would have done me 

[2112]

Today, I took my poorly mate over to the Northumbria Wheelchair Centre in Seaton Delaval to get fitted up for a new wheelchair. He's withered away so much that he's literally flopping about in the one he's got at the moment. The wheelchair specialist we saw was very keen, on the ball and had actually read Alec's notes, a rare treat! She grasped the urgency and measured him up for a 'custom' chair (they actually just adjust a standard chair to fit your dimensions) and a special cushion to help prop him up a bit. It should be with him by the end of the week with a bit of luck although I may have to pop over & pick it up. Even more surprising was the offer of a motorised wheelchair as well, that was totally unexpected. This will be a 'pusher operated' rather than a 'patient operated' type, but it will mean he can get out the house a bit locally - if we can keep him warm enough. He complained about being cold on the way there despite the heated seat on high and the heating on 25c! I guess he's just getting tempreture sensitive?

[2112]

Today we received the last of our RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) payments. I can't believe it's been 7 years since we had our air source heat pump installed, where does the time go ? It's been 100% reliable over that period with an annual service around April time. We opted for the optional heat metering package too, which netted an additional payment above the standard rate. Over that period we've achieved a heatpump CoP (Coefficient of Performance) of 2.45, so for every kW of electricity we've used we've generated 2.45kW of heat. That's OK but smaller heatpumps are even more efficient, we have the largest single phase heat pump you can get (15kW thermal output) to meet the heating load of our bungalow. Very happy with the results and the house has always been pleasantly warm every winter.

[pb]

2112, just had our first anniversary of the fitting our our Daikin 5KW heat source pump in our bungalow under the Home Upgrade Grant, COP for the heating is 3.73 and combined with the hot water the cop is 3.35 so really pleased with the results. For anyone who doesn't know about it the Home Upgrade Grant is a government scheme run by the local council for people who have no mains gas, they paid for the installation of the Heat source pump and Solar panels in our 1970 Bungalow in Dorset. Our EPC has gone from F to A . For anyone with a limited retirement income and a property with inefficient bottled gas or old electric heating it may be worth some investigation as lots of councils are running similar schemes ,they have recently increased the annual income figure for the owners of the property as too few people were meeting the criteria. We sell our excess electricity back to the grid through Octopus energy and if things continue as expected our annual heating and electric bill should be less than £400 

[2112]

Nice one pb 

[Rixington43]

My folks are in a similar boat with a 70s bungalow on LPG.
They had solar and batteries installed about 3 years ago, as did all my family.
Their 7kW Vaillant Aerotherm system goes in starting tomorrow.

[2112]

As an aside, only around 2.5% of houses in the UK meet the highest A energy efficiency level, most are C&D rated with loads of E&F's in the mix too. Some houses simply can't be brought up to the upper levels due to the construction type and whether or not they are listed.

[2112]

I've been putting it off for a while, but today I fitted some new chrome downlighters with 8w (natural white) LED bulbs in my back passage! Much brighter and the Mrs is happy, always a bonus...

[MisterDavey]

Ahhh yes, nice and bright, a good colour temperature too. Everyone likes their back passage to be well lit.

[MisterDavey]

I've been spannering since I was 14, first my Greeves/Villiers 250 and so on from there.
But this past week has seen a first for me, I used a 23mm spanner!!
I replaced the motor on my compressor, but also removed the non return valve. A copper pipe with a cooling coil on it has 23mm compression nuts either end. It's the newest looking spanner I have because it's never used.

[UK_Vstrom650]

I intended to ride a bike, road, mountain or motor but instead decided to cut the grass for the first time since May, and finished shredding the last bits of the Hawthorn tree I had to remove for the replacement garage which I cut down c. March. Forgot how much better the garden looks when the grass is tidy.

[Rusty Nuts]

MisterDavey, I know the feeling. I had to buy a 7mm Allen key recently. In all my years working on English, French, German and Swiss machines I have never seen a 7mm Allen key, never mind use one.

[The Doctor 46]

Why did Suzuki decide to use a 36mm nut on the rear axle? That's a big, heavy socket that had to be squeezed into the bikes tool kit? 

[Asmith61]

2112    Is that a really small door at the end of your hall way/ back passage?
Or does it just look like it as the passage is so long ?