Thanks for that everyone. I managed to get the bit on. The second round of
CLR & fitting the part onto the pipe must have done it. I've stuck with the
old plate on the wall as I couldn't fit the new part to the new plate,
although I've noticed a slight drizzle of water coming out at the wall so I
may well give it another go. Or maybe I'll just ask mum's partner to take a
look at it on the weekend.

--
Wanda
aka Willow
The missing and definitely not to be taken seriously under any circumstances
garden gnome
http://www.2000cn.com.au/~willow

~~faeries are able to fly because they take themselves lightly~
Bushy wrote in message
...
But in Australia,(as in "aus.gardens") almost every plumbing fitting used
for showers for the last couple of hundred years has been 1/2" BSP.

If you have the other...

Give it a bit of a clean with a wire brush and a bit of elbow grease if
there is a lot of shit, have a look at the thread and see if it's damaged,
see if the end of the threaded pipe has been cut square or you are trying
to
cross thread it.

Hope this helps,
Peter