Bacchus

Interesting. I did wonder whether the low power one that I bought was adapted simply by wiring the "full power" button to the "half power" setting, but it would appear that it's not that simple

I have a Panasonic combination at home which I have been very happy with for the last fifteen years, my mother has one which she has been using for longer - I think the old ones are better (Panasonics, not mothers). I only use it for things like jacket spuds and warming pies, whether it would work for a souffle or Yorkshire pudd'n, I have no idea. Microwaves do have a huge power draw - the listed power is the output power, not the input - so an 850w microwave will be drawing 16-1700w, and if you add a 1.5kw heating element on top of that, it might be a bit much even for shore-power in a marina. I love the convenience of a microwave, so for the camper I bought a low power version to work via a 1000w inverter (this one from Kitchenware Online) which I am very happy with - it's perfect for reheating a pasty, heating tinned vegetables, or warming a cup of soup with reduced washing up and faff!

Nice. this one I suppose - will fly off the shelf as a holiday rental.

Just to wrap this up - I ordered the rough surface tape as recommended by @Paringa and @Tracy D'arth - I have yet to peel it off, but I certainly managed to get it to stick! I wish I had known about it before, not least because it is wider than standard masking tape and I can get away with one strip per white line which would have saved a lot of masking!!! Big thanks to everyone.

I have both in the camper (well a 500w "travel" kettle and an inverter) but tend to use the electric more. It is far less efficient, true, but much less hassle to replenish... I think it would make a difference if I was living there full-time and needed the batteries to last forever. Also I do love the impatient whistle of a stove-top kettle!

We use to call it "bobbing" or boat-rock. Something to do with the ears apparently, but, as others have said, it does pass fairly quickly, and - importantly - it tends to dissipate the more time you spend boating; hardly ever happens to me nowadays (although I shan't say never...) The other weird thing I experience after time afloat is driving. However hard I try, I don't seem to be able to drift the car towards the kerb... and as for putting it into reverse to stop -- shall we just say there's no prop-walk (c:

I have ordered some of the rough surface tape to collect first thing... fingers crossed

"let the pain dry" - you have no idea what a pain this has been! There has been much profanity (c: Because it is so exposed and quite a large area, I don't know that my cutting in would be good enough, any slight imperfections will really show up. I have done one of the lines at the very rear edge by hand, but it is curved and easier to deceive the eye!

Now that sounds like a good call - never heard of it but it makes sense - have just looked at their website at the Scotch version and it gets good reviews

Yeah - I can put up with a little bit of ragged here and there, but I just need to be able to get the tape to stick for long enough for me to get the paint on! I think because it's textured, the tape is trying to adhere to the "tips of the texture", so only a tiny percentage of the area is actually stuck so the breeze just whips it off. I have waited most of the summer for a couple of dry days, I am not going to hold out for dry and still...!

Cool, ta, we have a Toolstation nearby - I have tried Homebase and Scotch so far...

Bit of a random one... can anyone recommend a good masking tape? I am trying to repaint my decks - the expanse of grey is broken up with white lines which I quite like. Last time I did it, I used the white gloss (International toplac) which gave a nice crisp finish but when wet it created a slippery line in the middle of the deck -- not ideal -- so this time I have put a texture paint underneath the toplac. I painted the lines ok, but am now trying to mask them to paint the grey "panels" and I cannot get the masking tape to stick! I smooth it down firmly - it sticks to some things (like itself, small flakes of paint which have resisted a wire brush and an electric sander, and my arm hair), but it simply blows away in the fierce down-draft from the savage beating of the wings of a passing butterfly... Any ideas or alternatives from painting experts? I think it would look awful if I try to paint the straight lines by hand (the curved corners are OK, but I could never get the lines straight enough) I suppose I could paint over the white then repaint the white lines, but the deck paint is quite thick and I want that to look like a panel on top of white rather than a panel with a white cross painted on it, so the boundaries make all the difference

er, because I will be the one selling the beer at the show, so I will be stopping at Marlow*... and picking up about ten kegs so that happy show-goers can enjoy a nice cold pint on draught and don't have to stagger about in a field carrying a case of beer, I will have done the hard work for them (c: Some money will be going to the brewery as they are a supplier, some will go to the owner of the Acorn Bar, and some will go to staff. Some may find its way into my pocket, but generally get paid in kind (the owner of the bar, who happens to be my ex-brother-in-law, has a vineyard a couple of miles up the road from Fawley Meadows and I do --occasionally-- sup glass or two of excellent English wine at his expense...). I generally do these events because, despite being really, really hard work, I enjoy it! *actually Rebellion deliver - they are a truly stunning company to do business with, I cannot praise them highly enough!

Anyone going to the Traditional Boat Rally in Henley on Thames over the August Bank Holiday weekend will be able to get a very nice pint of IPA or Rebellion Lager... it will cost a fiver, but to enjoy a pint in a field by the Thames whilst looking at vintage boats and Dunkirk Little Ships has to be worth a fiver...