Still think my solution is the most versatile and practical for anyone with arthritis or other problems with grip 
(And it’s not expensive either)
All good ideas, but I think that, as I have a bottle opener already on the handle of the tin opener, I will try that when the the next jar arrives. Won’t be long, I get through jam and marmalade quite quickly. 
And a thing for getting stones out horses hooves 
Vacuum sealed jars aren’t necessarily hard to open because of the vacuum. It’s also the seal on the inside of the lid that sticks. If you gently (ish) bang the outside rim of the lid against a hard flat surface, rotating it so that you bang the whole circumference, it will open much easier.
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OK I’ll try that next time.
Me too, as I tried the bottle opener on the tin opener technique yesterday and it didn’t work, wouldn’t fit under the lid edge.
If that doesn’t work I suppose I’ll have to break out the sabre again. 
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just take the engineering option… hit it with th’ammer 
Or spend 10 euros on one of those brilliant under-shelf/cupboard gadgets I recommended. Opens jars and bottles really easily and simply.
Or pour nearly boiling water over the lid then use a tea towel to unscrew the (now expanded) lid…
A sharp tap on the side of the cap with the back of a large chef’s knife always works for me
I would but haven’t really got a convenient shelf with room underneath it to perform the operation. Next thing will be to tap the edges all round, not sure I want to be messing with boiling water. 
Not a fitted kitchen with wall units then! (I haven’t either but I do have a shelf…)
A blowtorch might work instead 
@SuePJ
Sue, the answer is simply cheap vegetable oil/olive oil for sticky residue on plastic.
Soak-off top paper label in warm water.
Dry.
Dampen paper towel with the oil, place on residue, sit for a few hours/overnight.
Wash off.
I discovered this last year and works like a charm.
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More a sad thing I guess than an irritation, and in the great scheme of things, not that important, except that multiplied many times, it becomes important…
Three of our “go to” favourite restaurants that are within easy reach when we have had a hard day and just don’t want to cook in the evening have disappeared.
The first, in fact she retired and closed the autumn before COVID started. We hoped someone might take it over. Not surprisingly in current circumstances they haven’t.
The second, the most wonderful sarrasin creperie with superb service and a glorious menu, has been sold. The owners (sensibly) retired last summer. The new owners have aspirations to keep the market positioning, by cutting the menu to a quarter of what it was, raising prices and adding melon sorbet or fig ice cream to savoury crepes. They may attract a new clientele. We won’t be back.
The third, was a popular “shed” with a terrace along the canal - wonderful on hot summer evenings watching the pleasure boats sail by and eating cheaply and cheerfully. Sold. Bought by someone with upmarket, Michelin star pretensions. Maybe they will succeed. In the meantime, we’re now hunting around for an alternative.
A sign of how settled we are these days. When we first came here 14 years ago hunting for somewhere to eat was fun. Now, the loss of our favourites feels like a bereavement.
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We went to our favourite local restaurant yesterday. The first time for many moons.
All was well and we had a wonderful meal, all for 15 euros.
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Oooh lucky you. During the week, I was so looking forward to going to the sarrasin restaurant, not realising it had been sold, though OH had been warning me that he thought it was likely given the ages of the owners. It was SUCH a let-down. Not least because it meant we never said goodbye to the previous owners. 
We had a terrine de maison salad, Jim had a Paleron of braised beef and I had a coeur de carre de porc, both with a side of mixed veg and macaroni cheese.
Then chocolate mousse.
Not bad for 15 euros!
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European 16 Amp mains sockets and plugs. If the current design was awarded to the winner of a contest, I shudder to think what the 2nd and 3rd placed designs were like.
The wireable 16A plugs are the worst offenders as you always have wiggle the plug to get it seated into the socket. Doesn’t matter what brand, even the expensive Legrand ones are rubbish.
You are Sooo right! I have a 25m extension roll thingy with 4 sockets - do you think I can get plugs into those sockets. On a good day, if I’m lucky I can get one of the sockets to behave.