Is that your rubber duck in the bath.
What's made you smile today?
- Thread starter angel
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What's made you smile today?
It's not my fault I can't find a bath-toy sized version of the Fiat Panda Terramare ... I have to improvise in the meantime!Is that your rubber duck in the bath.
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Are you aware that Screwfix and B&Q are part of the same organisation? Often same stuff in both, but Screwfix cheaper. However, Screwfix often only do trade pack sizes, so if you only need small quantities of something, B&Q will offer retail size packs. A big pack to put on the shelf might still be cheaper when looking at the cost of the 30 mile trip.
I can walk 100yds to my local Screwfix, or 15 miles to B&Q.
Ah yeah. Kingfisher! I should have known, I think I had some money invested in them last year. I noticed Screwfix was very trade oriented! Good point, I’d always try them first now that they’re local.
For this small job we just grabbed one or two small little 3.99 adhesive and grout tubs from The Range a few units down from Homebase. Just as we’re 5 minutes from it and it’s handy to nip to mid-job.
Kingfisher are smart in recognising that there’s probably a wider, more sustainable target market of tradespeople in more towns and cities than there is a sizeable population of non professionals willing to pay more for stuff ‘now’ when they can get it for half the price on Amazon Prime ‘tomorrow’. Sadly they closed their huge, I mean, huge B&Q store from 2007 back in the mid 2010s. I suppose they anticipated how things are today. Smart. I can’t really blame Homebase for its sorry state… I think Bunning’s is to blame for that one. Truly sent it ‘down under’
There's a very convenient Screwfix just five minutes down the road from me, I've given up on B&Q and Homebase since the B&Q which was only a five minute walk away closed down - now there's a Mega store version on a shopping estate on the outside of town which is too far and difficult parking - too many daft door crashers. However, just a 15 minute drive away is another, larger Screwfix and a Toolstation. I'm very impressed with this Toolstation, quality stuff in smaller quantities than Screwfix and some really nice staff at highly competitive prices. Gets a thumbs up from me and it's on the road out to my boys houses.
Edit. Just thought I'd mention that I find the Maga centre B&Q is just too big. There's so much ground to cover and such a lot of content it overwhelms me, particularly if I'm looking for one particular thing as it can be "lost" amongst the other very similar stuff.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
What is the point of the big chains if all they do is push prices up? They pushed out the two local shops that had much more stuff at sometimes a tenth of the price and now Homebase (at least) has gone bust In the closing down sale with so say 90% reductions stuff was still too expensive. I did buy a hearth brush we dont need though..... No big loss, even if they gave my daughter a weekend job while she was at school.
I completely agree. its a very similar situation. The tool station staff here are all really great so I am very happy to go there. Im getting 5% off at the moment for spending more than £100 a month. Every little helps! What is is about the big B&Qs, and as you call them, door crashers. At least there is plenty of room at ours to park well clear. The one in Manchester is near enough to my older daughter's place I do go there. Its uninspiring and not a nice experience though. I can't quite say why, but I prefer anywhere else.
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When I was in school now a bout 25 years ago, I did an economics GCSE, I remember there was a metric of the amount of money that a company makes, per foot of floor space (online shops were barely a thing at the time) so as I remember the value afforded to B&Q was by far the worst of any other company in the UK, their shops has such a massive amount of space and such a huge volume of stock that it was amazing they ever made any money.
After school I had a short part time job working in Homebase, there was a lot of pressure on the managers to take £xxx amount per day with back holiday weekends being the days where they would often take in excess of £100k for a single day. But even then they struggled to compete with B&Q opting to sell less but more expensive stuff. A business plan which wasn’t well sort through as a when it comes to a sheet of mdf you go where’s cheap. Over the last 20 or so years homebase changed hands a dozen times and went through the hands of people looking to make a fast buck not make a business so it’s no surprise they’ve now gone bust.
Now B&Q has no competition, I ca see prices creeping up
Parenting hack.
Give the toddler a remote control digger and a box with small dog biscuit to ‘dig’
Toddler entertained for ages, dog and toddler share bonding time, dog happy as she gets anything dropped. If he spills it dog cleans up.
This really has proven to be the ultimate way to keep him busy on a Saturday afternoon
My daughter doesn't need a Henry vacuum cleaner for my grand daughter hers are called George and Lola, food rarely touches the floor before it is "cleaned up".
Other options...
Put the child in a Toyota estate...
Get the child to fight the armies of the forces of evil in VR once the batteries are recharged...
same here we have two but the other one preferred to stay away from the digger., food rarely touches the floor before it is "cleaned up".
At just under 3 he’s a little young to be battling the zombie apocalypse.
We do a monthly round trip to arcade warehouse..it's 50 mile round trip but it's 20 quid in to play all the machines on free play for 2 hours.
Of course you could say at 6 he's also too young to be battling pirate zombie boards..at one point today he was hanging out the side of an Arcade shooting game eyes shut firing blindly. I said to him "mate, you don't have to play this if it's scaring you we'll go on something else" "no I will defeat the pirates!"
After that he decided he wanted to play on terminator salvation...
I was a fan of his Tomb Raider technique...4 player machine on free play so one gun in each hand naturally.
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We have one of them in Norwich an arcade place in a shopping mall but I think it’s £12 for an all day pass. Probably not as big.
I’d not considered the two hand shooting that’s genius!
The one in Norwich has an original teenage mutant ninja turtles matching from around the early 90s, me and my brother pumped loads of money into one of them when we were kids and never did beat the game so I have considered going in with the sole intention of beating the game lmao
It's a canny afternoon if your child is less of enthusiast of making things go boom they have various driving games and air hockey, mario Olympics, pinball etc and vr games but he loves shooting lots of things and I don't get to play any driving games (always my fave) at all except one where you drive a flipping tank.
Saw Alan Partridge out and about
Should be ashamed of the paintwork - just look at the orange peel!
Edit. I've noticed that since they changed to water based low polluting paints that orange peel seems to be evident on many paint jobs. Just take a wander round any new car showroom and look at the generally quite poor paintwork in evidence.
I agree Jock, I have sen brand new cars on Automondial etc. and to be honest have seen better paintwork on Lada cars, mind you that was usually after defects had been found by the importers and put right before sending to Dealers.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
So, anyone recognize the screw driver. It will bring back memories for many when you realise its a Meccano one from around 1955. Toys that last! I have the spanners too.
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Last few Japanese cars I've had have had awful paint jobs.
The Suzuki especially was so bad that after a mishap a wing needed resprayed. The gentleman doing it pointed out he'd be unable to match the factory orange peel...so that wing was forever too good for the rest of the car.
The Mazda the paint was thin enough to read through and none existent anywhere that wasn't an exterior panel.
I think one of the places they save money is the paint.... although you'd imagine a Lexus should get special treatment.
Weirdly my knocked together in Derby Toyota seems to have a better finish on it than the Japanese built precision instrument.
Not perfect but you can actually tell what it's reflected...
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