Think I'll get them flippers

The kids just did their latest swimming badges. They achieved 1 mile and 3KM respectively, probably considerably further than I could swim. They are both, quite rightly, proud of themselves.

Croc charms have been selling well, but I need to list a load more on Ebay really.

Can't wait for the Northumberland County Show on Monday. www.northcountyshow.co.uk
The poultry section has been cancelled as there is bird flu in North Wales (!!!) not the really dangerous sort (unless you are a chicken). So alas no Buff Orpington review is likely to appear on this blog anytime soon.

The new Koi pond in our garden has been the focus of a lot of attention recently. Having clearly ignored all the advice on how and where to build a pond (it is under a tree, in the shade, no shallow shelf and no pump or filter) I am now trying to sort it out so that the fish survive the first few months. So far we have a solar pump/fountain, various floating plants, some weed stuff and these barley pellets that soak up nasty stuff.

We've also got water testing strips that detect 5 types of nasty from ammonia to nitrates and some special potion that contains bacteria to sort out any excess nasties. All of which adds up to some serious purchasing. I haven't seen the fish all week as the water has gone a bit cloudy, well I did see one gold one. I guess Kois are shy (or depressed, or quietly dying down there).

To add a new challenge to our lives the combi boiler has been condemned by our friends at British Gas. It seems the heat exchanger has given up and because the boiler is 20 years old the part is hard to get, and would cost £600. So we'll probably go for a more efficient boiler and spend close on £2,000. We've had a look at the ground source heat pumps but they would require planning permission and 80 metres of trench to lay the pipes. It would easily cost £15K for that option, and the rest.... The air source heat pump would cost about the same so they are all out of the question until the kit gets a lot cheaper (it should be cheaper now seeings as how the government keep on and on about carbon footprints and the environment). Still you have got to be rich to be green.