I should say at the outset that I am NOT a handyman type. However, my late father in law was a stonemason and I inherited some of his tools when he died, and our small patio badly needed relaying. So, remembering some of the tricks of the trade he'd imparted to me I set about cutting some paving slabs to size with a club hammer and a bolster chisel. What had seemed effortless when he did it suddenly became hard graft and, sure enough, the fourth slab toppled when I tried to turn it over and off I went to A&E with a broken finger.
A friend heard about my accident and, when he'd finished laughing at my ineptitude, he lent me his anglegrinder, a Bosch GWS 8-115C. I was amazed how quickly this contraption ripped through the paving slabs and straight after returning his I immediately bought one of my own.
It came in a smart, neatly ...
Advantages: A very useful piece of garden equipment. Disadvantages: Cost, has to be justified.
Draper 5l Expert Garden Sprayer.
A wonderful piece of kit, sixteen inches tall without the handle, and holding five gallons of whatever you want. There are of course certain types of fluid you can't use in this, like for example solvents, this sprayer is for all your garden spraying requirements, everything from water, to herbicides and pesticides, insecticides and fungicides, de-icer and solvent-free preservative treatments. You can also spray used washing up water of course. Made from plastic, there are no corrosion problems, and as long as it is stored correctly especially over the Winter period, it should last for many years.
I am not advocating the use of some wildspread mass extermination with "Agent Orange", but the use of some metered amounts of a certain treatment, must be considered. I like the idea of "organic ...
Advantages: Looks good, adjustable for fineness and servings Disadvantages: A bit noisy
Krups Expert Coffee Grinder, GVX2
Having recently bought a Gaggia Espresso machine I needed to get a grinder to prepare the beans to make the perfect coffee. I'd bought the espresso machine at Bluewater shopping centre and I knew that I'd want to get cracking as soon as I got home so there was no time to look around online to get the best deal. After realising that the only suitable Gaggia model would cost £150 I thought I'd nip into John Lewis to see what they had on offer.
The choice there was pretty good with models starting at about £20 running up to the Gaggia model. After being given a crash course in the matter of grinding beans by the very helpful assistant I plumped for the Krups model, GVX2, at £39.95.
Before I talk about the Krups model, let me try and pass on that crash course and explain the finer points of grinding ...
