Author Archives: russellslater

This article is No 1 of a series of five looking at real life DIY disasters I have either caused, in my ignorance, or had to manage when someone else has caused them. I hope that forewarned with these little … Continue reading →

Apparently, the four most common reasons that people call out auto recovery services are all related to F words…. Flat battery, flat tyre, flipping keys and fuel. Most of these problems can be overcome by making up and carrying a … Continue reading →

By Rus Slater Some say that a DIY job is 90% preparation, and some say that it ain’t over until you have tidied up and put everything away. Both, of course, may be right, and a vacuum cleaner is a … Continue reading →

Mary’s Little Land is Getting Squared Up By Rus Slater What with all the recent rain, I’m glad that the digging is done. We’ve moved on to the more technical stuff of levelling and setting out more accurately. And filling … Continue reading →

A Window Of Opportunity By Rus Slater Oh, the joys of modern cars! All those clever gizmos and gadgets are so great until they go wrong, then it is a flipping nightmare, and a potentially very expensive one as well. … Continue reading →

A Place for Everything By Rus Slater A long time ago, I served in the Corps of Royal Engineers and had in my responsibility a large inventory of tools and equipment. One thing I learnt was the value of both … Continue reading →

What is the first sign of spring? Is it the earlier dawn? Is it the sighting of the first swallow? No, It’s the headlines in the papers warning of an impending hosepipe ban. It seems that nowadays every season is … Continue reading →

You’ll Hang For That By Rus Slater In a quiet moment I did a bit of counting up recently; I reckon that we have got around 7000 square feet of internal wall space in our house. Scattered about over this … Continue reading →

Wheel Meet Again By Rus Slater I’m in the process of helping my son dispose of his old car and get a new one and in the process of the “doing-up-for-sale” I noticed the damage to the rims of the … Continue reading →