ROGER EVANS

There used to be a company that sold aerosol that you sprayed on your number plates and they couldn't be read by a camera. I must admit I bought a can.

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I CAN'T think why but I have become intrigued just lately with thatched roofs. Don't think for a minute that I have any information to share with you. I've asked builders and estate agents and they seem to know very little or they don’t want to know.

All I've found out is it that most thatches carry a 20-year guarantee, and the builder who told me that could have been making it up. To be fair to those builders and estate agents there aren't many thatched roofs around here, as you go further south you seem to see them more often, which in itself is interesting.

The sort of stuff I'd like to know is: how much do they cost? And do they have any insulation value? Why are some new thatches totally encased in small mesh wire netting? Presumably to keep out rodents and small birds.

Most important of all, how do they work and do they have a future?