On Sunday I paid £9.99 at a garden centre for a max/min thermometer: it
worked for one day before the iron wire within it sank below the surface of
the blue liquid on the max temp' side and the thing became n.b.g.!

Today I took it back and was refunded the money.

On my way home I called at an ironmonger's and asked them if they had a
max/min thermometer. "In all honesty I could not recommend buying one from
anywhere if it has a blue liquid in it." one of the assistants told me. I
explained what had happened to the one I'd bought and the assistant said,
"It's the b----- EU and a directive about mercury I've been told! We had
some with mercury in and they worked a treat but we had to return them and
were sent those useless things which we've now got rid of back to the
supplier."

Now my question is, "Can anybody recommend a make of max/min thermometer
which works and does not cost more than about a tenner?" I do not want an
electronic one.

Geoff