Frisky

Actually - it's not for me. I am British but I'm dealing with a case at the moment and I am getting differing views on whether the subject is entitled to British citizenship (or some other bullet-proof status). I know there are some people who look at this stuff and who know the Acts far far better than I do...

The subject:

Born 1969 in America

Born out of wedlock, parents married after the birth

Mother British

Father American

Views from those who understand these things welcome. Additional facts available if required. I couldn't care two pins if he is American (I know he is) - but I need to know if he is British (in any way shape or form).

If it is not automatic entitlement then it may be a matter of having to register as a British citizen. This has never been done but begs another question: Is registration an absolute right or can HMG deny it on criminal history grounds?

Thanks

For someone who doesn't read much, my whipping though all of Robert Crais's books in the last month has been something of a revelation. Plenty good thrillers. If you like Crais then you'll be able to suggest some similar and equally enjoyable authors and books.

My question is: So whose work should I turn to next?

Thriller type genre only.

Best answer goes to the one I go on to read first.

Thanks

My wife has an Orange mobile. The SIM is brand new and it has been registered. The phone works. We have not topped it up but have a £1 credit from Orange that is valid. We have tried to access the "Orange Wednesday" promotion. We have sent the correct text to the correct number. No response received. Re-tried. Still no reply.

So I call Orange Customer Services. I was put though to an Indian Call-Centre. I was told that the £1 credit is valid and that the Orange Wednesday promotion works as follows:

You send the text. A reply is NOT guaranteed. If one is "lucky" then one receives a text ticket and is charged 35p. This might take 5 minutes. If one is not lucky then one will received nothing and will not be charged.

Is this correct? There is nothing on the website about "being lucky". The website says "send a text, receive your ticket, go to the cinema".

Can someone educate me as to how this scheme actually works? Have I been instructed correctly or was that a load of rubbish?

Thanks

No - seriously. I use one of those online DVD rental stores and I have seen LOADS of films...seriously...loads. So please suggest something different - something you love that you think I should see and tell me why I should rent it. Points go to the person whose suggestion I follow.....

..because modern ones don't?

No - really....does anyone know about these things? What was different on TVs about 10 yrs ago that made them bDONG when the on switch was activated?

Renault Megane RXE 2.0 1998

The CD display and the clock/temp are next to each other. The CD display is fine. The fuse is fune. The clock was fine but today the display has disappeared. Is the entire clock likely to be dead or something more simple? How do these things illuminate? Is there a seperate bulb that generates the display? The entire digital area is dark - no signs of life on the clock side of the display at all. Integral temperature display also not showing.

Insight very welcome before I take this thing apart and make a real hack of it all...

Cos we need some. Not Calpol. Nipper has a hacking cough and we think we ought to at least try some of this stuff. Thanks.

Where a photo has been processed using CS2 and a copyright message has been placed onto the print - can another user with the same software remove that message if they just copy your photo from the internet?

Should this come as a surprise? After all his Human Rights Act, ethical foreign policy, and marriage to a woman who looks like a postbox proves he lost touch with reality long long ago.

Is this normal?

I use Abode CS2. I'm self taught and have no difficulty doing the basic refining of my pics - but the deeper stuff remains a mystery (channels, layers etc). The on screen help is too verbose - so I want to buy a book. Can anyone recommend a title? I don't want to create "projects" - no web design, posters or animation for me. I just want to do interesting things with my pictures.

Alternatively if you have bought a book and thought it was rubbish I'd love to hear from you.

(Not that it's EVER going to happen)

A Muslim colleague - who I do not know at all - sent out a global email wishing everyone a Happy Eid. This colleague is supposed to be our "diversity advisor" but this didn't stop him imposing religious greetings on little old me - who doesn't believe in any religious claptrap, nor in ghosts, magic, or the tooth fairy.

I propose to POLITELY tell him to keep desist from sending me any religious salutations (of any kind).

Do you think this is reasonable? Should I desist? Am I likely to find a dead horse on my desk, or something?

Where can I buy thicker ploys? Serious answers only.

I've tried B&Q and Homebase but they just looked at me blankly.

Every year we take our hound to get his booster. He is appx 12 now and hates it. The vets claims that if he is so much as a month late then they need to do the whole course of injections from scratch. Personally I think it is a con. I don't have a polio jab every year. Sooooo....any vets out there who hand on heart can justify this yearly fleecing? Surely the injections last longer than a year? Insight is welcome....

I live in a bungalow. The hot water tank is on the ground floor (ie - not in the loft). The system is quite new - appx 4 years old. The tank sits adjacent to the bathroom. Hot water runs directly from the tank into a radiator in the bathroom. From there the water flows back into the tank. I was under the impression that this radiator should always be hot (assuming hot water is present in the tank). But recently it is cold all the time. I have not blocked the flow from the tank (ie - turned the flow off via a tap/valve) and there is no thermostat on the radiator. I've bled the radiator - but there was and indeed is no excess of air in there.

Anyone out there who can explain what might be going on? Why is this radiator cold?

We have no issues with the rest of the house. The central heating is off at the moment of course - but surely that only affects the main system (ie that which relies on the pump) rather than this radiator that just takes hot water off the tank.

Thanks