Sorry, bit late to this as I haven't looked at the blog in a couple of days.

You lot with ground and subterranean pests seem to have forgotten that there are two essential self-help guides on these subjects

look on YouTube for

Jasper Carrott - mole

Caddyshack - gopher

Golf Charlie
In later years I toyed with the idea of a couple of little 12v wind generators for a TV and a decent light for reading. But mother always said she was happy with the radio and TV only ever had people fighting and arguing with each other, and that was before Eastenders! So it was calor gas, Esso Blue and radio.

Jul 23, 2018 at 11:34 PM | Pcar

Thank you for that. Not just Rover used them .......
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/VM_Motori

Trump does the business with Iran – or not
Well Iran has got form - going back a few thousand years - don't think that they will change - just yet... just say'n

Jul 23, 2018 at 7:07 PM | Mark Hodgson

Thank you for the correction and clarification! If there is no "effective ban" there is certainly no "ineffective ban" either, in Scotland.

The whole issue of fracking in the UK has been contaminated by the Green Blob. Further corrections and clarifications are required, to establish whether it is worth fussing about.

Jul 23, 2018 at 6:39 PM | Uibhist a Tuath

I was not born until the 1960s but I remember remote farms and cottages with WW2 surplus generators, engines etc. Some of it was British, some from Uncle Sam, and some of it was "liberated" with German writing.

The original Land Rovers had a rear PTO (Power Take Off) so that kit designed to be run by stationary engines could be run by a farmers car.

I have mentioned on this blog before that the cheapest diesel engines to buy will be in accident damaged Diesel engined cars, or MOT failures. Standard Alternators can be replaced with High Output versions as a straight swap (12 volt) if a 240 volt AC generator cannot be engineered to fit the output drive.

As a yottie out in the Mediterranean, many small fishing boats are powered by "marinised" car engines, the Ford Fiesta 1.6 Diesel, along with similar from Renault/Peugeot/Citroen are particular favourites.

If you buy a new yacht from a European manufacturer, the engine may be Green, with Volvo written on it. It may have 1 - 4 cylinders and produce 10 - 70+ hp, but it will be familiar to those with knowledge of 1970s London Taxis. If it is silver, it will have Yanmar written on it. Yanmar is part of Mitsubishi.

Those that have a yacht that needs a new diesel engine, are (correctly) tempted by Beta. They are red, but better known as Kubota, powering diggers and dumper trucks all over the world.