dpage@vale-housing.co.uk wrote
> That error is coming from PostgreSQL - the query tool never looks at any
> indexes; it just sends the query and displays whatever comes back. What is
> the exact sequence of events needed to reproduce this?
>
You are right. My queries included plpgsql functions and I stubled
across a well documented side effect of plpgsql storing execution plans
for the life of a database connection.
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/static/plpgsql.html#PLPGSQL-OVERVIEW
Consequently I could reproduce the same effect with psql.
So it is by design. Sorry for the noise.
Regards
Erwin