Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!

I've had an upright Dyson for about a year, I'd agree that they're great, but the build quality is questionable at best. The tank on mine has a crack appearing from the middle of the lid part. It's not been knocked or dropped, in fact it's impossible to hit it at that point as it's where it goes into the tank, but I did notice it's right where the injection moulding point is. It seems that the power of the suction is just too strong for the material or construction of the tank...





Luckily the Dyson has a five year warranty, so I emailed the above photos with a terse note saying it was my opinion that it's a weak point in the construction or a design flaw. They agreed straightaway to send me a replacement tank - not just the lid, but the whole unit. So, a result on that, and I can't fault their customer service - but the fact they agreed without any argument suggests to me that I'm not the only one with this issue and it probably is a known problem.

It seems a strange design choice to have an injection mould point right where the strongest suction area is, but then I'm no engineer - but it does seem that the injection point is the source of the crack appearing. I've not used the new tank yet, I'm waiting till the tank fails altogether, which won't be long now as it's spreading.

Hmm I have just bought an upright one - will have to go and have a look - still nice that the customer service is good

Just checked mine and it's starting to show small cracks!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

I've got an interview tonight for something I've wanted to do for 25 years. There will be 12 people on the interviewing panel and the whole thing will start at 2030 and last for at least 45 minutes. In short, I am having a proper brown-trouser day.

So all the women in my life are co-operating, right?

First thing this morning, Mother decided that today would be the best day to start typing up her coursework which isn't due in for ages. This does not normally make for a good day as she usually finds a way to break everything and requires me to fix it. Added in is that I need to continue reading online and we only have one computer. However, I subtly persuaded her that today might not be the best of days - order restored you might think.

At which point my sister (nicknamed Grumble-knickers) turned up moaning and shouting and with two of her children in tow. Apparently she and her husband are coming to blows over what to do with the fifty thousand pounds they've just inherited. He wants to convert the attic and she wants to put a load away for the offspring to use at university. Oh blessed Fortuna! Why did you curse them so? So now I've got to listen to yet another load of tosh about a crisis that the rest of the world would love to have and I can't relax because we only have one TV and it's got Boomerang on it.

At this point the wife (who isn't even dressed yet) decided to go on Facebook for ages and got the hump when I, again quite subtly, indicated my displeasure.

So now all of them are pigged off at me and I am now gently smouldering in my bedroom with headphones on and have purloined the laptop.

Why can't everyone please, for half a day, just chuffing CO-OPERATE?

Aaaaand breath. And leave the house, do what you want to do in the local library or something maybe ?

I'm fine now.

My sister has left, the other two are behaving and I'm playing foobilliards.

Chasing the dream, no wonder you're bricking it. It's amazing how we always put pressure on ourselves, isn't it?

Best of luck in the interview, I hope everything goes well.

Mine never do, why should you get off light?

Böppdy women drivers, typing SMS while they are driving!

I was stopped at the traffic lights on the way to work yesterday and the woman behind me was so busy typing an SMS, she didn't notice we had stopped!

She only hit me at a relatively low speed, but the dent in the rear bumper will cost about 1200€ to correct (new bumper). She drove off while I was calling the police and hasn't answered my calls. The police weren't much help either, nobody injured...

Did you get her licence plate Dave? If no joy with the police we can set up an internet vigilante group.

Yes, I can read it in my rear bumper, with a mirror!

She had left her name and address, before leaving, but hadn't exchange insurance details.

Her husband called, he isn't happy with me getting a quote from the main dealer, he wants to send an independent assessor to look at the car first. He doesn't want to involve the insurance, yet.

How old is the car?

If it's not a banger or it's under warranty I'd tell him to jog on with that prospect as it could devalue the car further and if under warranty may void it getting work done at an unauthorised garage

the car is 1 year old.

In which case I would tell him that it has to go to an authorised dealer, he can deal with the costs directly with them if he does not want it to go through his insurance. The alternative is that you report his wife to the police for leaving the scene of an accident.

I'd have said something along the lines of "i would have been amenableto that had she not driven off without giving her details". Hopefully will dump her in more trouble.

Yesterday evening, I was travelling down a 40mph dual carriageway in the outside lane. Lots of traffic so no faster than about 30mph. Then noticed the car alongside me swerving. Fecker was in a saxo trying to text and drive. For thirty seconds he didn't have his eyes on the road and when he saw that I had spotted him, he put his phone away. Silly cameras otherwise I would have rocketed ou of that situation.