On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:51:47 +0100, "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot"
wrote:

Any suggestions? What about a scaffold pole-sized drill bit? Is that
feasible?

A "ground screw"?. 'tis such a beast:

http://www1.krinner.de/schraubfundamente.html

(which will eventually let you set the language to English if you persevere, or
pretend to be in Kanada.)

I got a generic one cheap, about two feet long, for something like five Euros,
from a B&Q-equivalent. Stick the supplied cross bar in, turn until the top's
just about level with the ground. Then there's plastic rings to shim to the
pole, and a screw to hold it in a bit.

The fancier ones on the site listed have a cunning arrangement of several
eccentric rings so that one can set the pole vertical if the screw isn't. My
cheap imitation holds a 4 m umbrella thing upright in stony ground for as long
as I need it. Takes about two minutes to install and less to remove, if one can
still find the cross bar.


Thomas Prufer