CitroJim's Citroens

[CitroJim]

even better, use the Activa and you'll have excellent handling around the borders!

I like the sound of that Russ, excellent. It could be a horticultural winner. The next big thing to revolutionise lawn-care

I did complain to the owner that the mower did seem to have a set of flat spheres, the gearchange was terribly notchy and the clutch a bit sharp... I found it was possible to pull wheelies on it

[CitroJim]

Yesterday, Team WFA descended upon my garden and went through it like a tornado. The old rotten pergola has gone, along with all the rubbish and much rampant vegetation.

The garden looks so much better and so much more spacious now. Excellent I cannot thank the members of team WFA enough for their hard work All I need now is some planting advice.

Toward the end of the day, after one tip run, there was still a massive pile of rubbish to go, including a big water butt amongst other things....

I bet Chris570 a free reseal of his V6 XM camboxes he could not load all the remaining rubbish into the back of his Xantia Estate and take it to the tip all in one go. Such is his keenness not to do his camboxes himself he managed it and how he did I still can't work out even though technically he lost the bet as he neglected to take one broken watering can...

I do feel a bit responsible for his camboxes as I let him have a tube of the special sealant to do the job and I didn't realise until I had cause to use the stuff for something else - a leaking toilet cistern - that it has a best before date and goes off. In the case of the tube I let him have the best before date was way off Sorry Chris

Yes, the bloody toilet cistern sprang a leak on Thursday evening/night and soaked the bathroom carpet and floorboards something terribly. Just what I really didn't need after a long, hard and very difficult week that had left me feeling quite ill. Emergency plumbers around there are a cruel joke - in fact any plumbers at all are - so I had no option but to visit B and Q, get every bit I thought I needed and sort it. Pulling up in B and Q car park in the XM I was approached by a gentlemen who stated he saw me come in and was amazed to see an XM, declaring he hadn't seen one for years and years and years. He was delighted to see it and we enjoyed a long chat about them. He, it transpired, was long retired from the motor trade.

Back home with all the innards for a cistern I set to work and just replaced the lot wholesale, ballvalve, syphon and all seals. It was then I realised I needed some sealant, cracked open a tube of V6 cambox sealant - if it's good enough for an ES9 then I'm sure it's good enough for a bog - and discovered just how far past it's best before date it was...

Touch-wood it's done the job on the cistern and it remains mercifully leak-free Good, because I really can do without aggro like that

[captainhaddock]

Don't know about team WFA Jim, but our XM's are past latest sell by date too! Good to see you're all happy in the bathroom...Don't forget to install an emergency shut off valve just in case things go wrong!

[CitroJim]

Don't forget to install an emergency shut off valve just in case things go wrong!

That Jaap is a good idea and in fact presently is the only water-consuming device in the house that doesn't have one and that's because of the way the cistern is plumbed there no stretch of straight pipe that's long enough and accessible enough to fit one. The previous owner was a really keen boxer-in of pipes and there's barely a pipe to be seen anywhere in the house!

Luckily, the main stopcock is accessible and fully functional so for that one cistern it's no real problem to shut off the water at the stopcock.

[russ92xmsed]

What is it with toilets at the moment. On Thursday morning, the upstairs one overflowed into the conservatory. I should say the overflow pipe was there first the conservatory built around it. Drenched that three times. Fortunately it was clean water from the cistern.
And now the new bog in the basement is leaking, only having just been put in. so I share your frustration Jim.

Anyway, glad yours is sorted out and sounds like Team WFA have done a grand job on the garden. I might tackle some garden things today.

I do find it interesting who likes talking about the XM. Every time I take my car for a drive, it always gets looks. And recently a newish neighbour is quite intrigued with it. He was amazed by the second rear windscreen. He has a Mazda Bongo, which he is constantly fettling. We were both out there yesterday bonnets up!

[Dieselman]

The garden looks so much better and so much more spacious now. Excellent I cannot thank the members of team WFA enough for their hard work All I need now is some planting advice.

Concrete and AstroTurf. Some planters if you really feel the need.

[captainhaddock]

Concrete is: boring! Only good for garage floors. Hard to get rid off too! Team WFA stands for 3 DIY-ers I take it, like the Masda Bonkers, never heard of it! I am fiddling with car radio's and new hoovers but cannot register the bloody VAX because we do not have post codes in Ireland.
Nothing seems to work today..

[CitroJim]

I'll agree about the concrete Jaap but the problem remains. I need something quite maintenance-free but not as featureless as a mass of concrete. I'm thinking a bit of lawn as I don't mind light mowing, some small borders and some paving slabs with gravel in between. Still don't know what to plant though. Something that looks nice, grows slowly, needs no skill or attention to grow and is not affected by pests. If it can repel cats then even better...

Team WFA is what we call a group of us three friends and comprises Chris, who runs an XM V6 like mine, a tweaked Activa and a Xantia HDi, Liam who runs a Xantia V6 and has a non-running RX-8 (stories told of it in this blog occasionally) and a part-built Cobra kit-car running a Rover V8 engine and hydropneumatic suspension that a couple of Xantias died to donate parts to. The third member is me.

We are, in some ways, a bit like the trio on Top Gear. Chris is Clarkson, Liam is Hammond and I'm very much Captain Slow...

Any planting ideas and thoughts for my garden will be greatly appreciated. It's not large, mostly North-facing and this is roughly what it looks like although these pictures were taken abot three years ago now.

This one is looking north from the conservatory. the compost bins have now gone..



This is looking east at the pergola (now gone) and the patio directly behind the garage. the water butt and wheels have now gone too...



And finally, this is looking south roughly from the rhubarb (which is delicious and is staying) in the first picture.



So, any Monty Dons out there, let's have your thoughts on what I can do with it.

[captainhaddock]

It shouldn't be too difficult Jim. I will ask mrs. Haddock

[russ92xmsed]

Ferns Jim. Just plant ferns everywhere. It's exotic!!!!!

Sorry... I have had some wines!