Time to live see my son grow up with my wife to be a happy young man.

Radiation scanners, we’ve got ’em at work too (major UK port for cargo)

Pretty much the only thing that sets them off if bananas and clay. No real alarms that I’m aware of thankfully, customs run and monitor them though.

Really feeling for everyone up there it just seems never-ending with the same places being flooded over and over 🙁

The Pinks yours are obviously OK.

Mine thankfully live close enough that they don’t need to stay over. My FIL is a morbidly obese UKIP Councillor and a bully who likes to intimidate people, he’s the boss end of! we’ve not got on from day one! not a single opinion in common and never will frankly.
The MIL is a meek and mild cooking and cleaning machine for the above I don’t think she has a single opinion of her own just those of the FILs. Such as earlier this year blaming the presence of a police car at a local shop on the recently moved in “Darkies” while in the car with me my wife and our 3 year old son, she didn’t mean it maliciously at all just casual racism picked up from the FIL. I immediately set her straight on that one, which she just shrugged off and chuckled about like it was fine and normal.

I have to say they have been great baby sitting of late (well the MIL primarily he plays here and there but buggers off down the pub or out once his 5 mins of patient run out) with me being in hospital even coming round and dropping my wife off at hospital at 5am etc. when I went to intensive care for a few weeks about a month back. I just hope nothing like that gets said around our son. unfortunately he can do no wrong in my wife’s eye, at least nothing that that does any more than put her in a bad mood for more than a few days, and he’s been pretty nasty to her several times over the years, it’s just take take take with him everyone always owes him a favour pretty rare for anyone to get a favour from him that’s not one sided. You lend him something you deliver and collect, he lends you something (rare) you collect and deliver asap.

don’t know how my wife is so amazing bar her FIL blind-spot.

Independents can be just as bad. Seat arose needed new discs and pads and I couldn’t be arsed so just decided I’d get it done at the garage, but I’d looked up parts cost on euro car parts to get an idea. Parts were under £30 local independent quoted me over £100 for parts plus 2 hours labour. I walked out, I’d noticed on my way out he was only checking euro car parts website for parts prices too.

I ended up doing it at my brothers place with a trolley jack in an hour and a half, book time was an hour I think.

Cheers all, Sturmy especially, that’s good to hear.

We’ll probably always have a second car but most of the time we do short journeys in the little run around car not the big estate

I got escorted off Lord mountbatten’s estate by a gamekeeper after taking a wrong turn on a marathon training run. I knew it wasn’t the official Test way route but it actually follows the river which is beautiful, a gate was left open that wasn’t usually so I went for it.
Claimed I was lost, gamekeeper\fishery guy said the Lord would have his head if I passed on that side of of the house. Shame ‘cos it was such a nice route far nicer than the actual test way which seems to hardly go near the river, in that area anyway.

Yeah I’m aware of Battery rental.

Leaf is another option, you can by the battery with them, used that worries me a bit, how can I test the battery bar doing a full charge and long run which would take a good few hours. Dealer maybe private might be more difficult

Valliant ecotec here, our installer recommended them or Worcester.
He said if you’re tight on space go Worcester as they’re more compact but that meant servicing/repairs are more difficult but also in his opinion made then slight less reliable as everything was just that be tighter internally

I’m very tempted to get a cat trap and relocate the little sod when I can. New neighbours cat is at it all the bloody time according to the wife. Including in the middle of the lawn, dirty bloody animal!

There’s no reasoning with a cat and just about any deterrent needs regular cost, topping up. Catching the feckers in the act, which needs lots of time and dedication which I don’t have. But I don’t want my garden turned into a litter tray. Why should I be clearing it up?

So we can fine dog owners for letting them foul in public, but cats on private property can just crap all over the place grrrrrrr

Similar to Stoner with my Brother. 14mnths between us, fought loads as kids. I moved out at 18 and we didn’t speak for a few years. But all sorted now. I was best man at his wedding and in two weeks time he’s donating me his stem cells. So very pleased we made up. Good luck you’ll be fine.

FD mobile app has updated on my phone and ipad recently and I think it’s an improvement.

I’ve been with them a bit over a year and have been impressed compared to barclays. Nationwide were great on the mortgage though.

Is it just for when a pump is faulty? any other reasons?

Question for the experts… under what circumstances are the transfer pump switches required?
My car has a fuel pump (+ regulator and return), it’s essential at all times for the car to run, as I imagine they are in a helicopter, or not….?
When would you switch them off normally, or in an emergency situation?

I really don’t get the “we absolutely must have a nuclear deterrent” thing. it to me always seems to be delivered as a reflex reaction, usually with absolutely no explanation or reasoning. Like it’s been drummed in to people to believe that they really do need it, the world has moved on the Cold War is over.

Plenty of large developed countries in the world get on perfectly well without them.
If some nutter does decide to press the button then we’re pretty much all dead either way so what difference would it make to us? We’ll be dead/ dying. If it’s happening the USA will be getting involved too so what’s the point of us having a dozen to their 2000?
We’re members of NPT, why are we building more!
I just really struggle to understand the point of them.

That’s a hell of a lot of money to plug the deficit and help the nhs with.

Chemical meningitis & low pressure headaches from lumbar punctures
Absolutely excruciating, was put on a morphine (Oxycodone) pump for a week with each, with a few other drugs gabapentine (pregabaline) and quite a few steroids amongst others. I don’t remember a lot of the meningitis week but I remember being a right miserable short tempered sod with my wife, which she really didn’t deserve. Can’t remember how many times over the second week in my hospital room I cried to myself for it to stop.

Really hoping to never have to repeat either if those. Unfortunately I have several more LPs planned post stem cell transplant

I’m happy to bin off sumo tbh, it’s wrestling for fatties 😉
More of a cultural thing though isn’t it? if we let sumo in then we might as well have Morris dancing too 😉

Why can’t we just say a it’s a sporting if you can only be really competitive/pro at it if your not overweight?

Yes I’m a bit fattest or more accurately obese-its. Btw I’m the heaviest I’ve been in 10 years but I’ve got an excuse at the moment, really hating it though

There have been and are fat pro golfers for sure, bridge yep you can be fat and amazing at it I’m sure.
So that’ll bin off the shooters and archers unless part of the pentathlon. No probs with that.

Mind you the shot putters and hammer-its would be out, bugger I’m unpicking myself already. Works for most stuff though I think?

Giving up is just not an option.
Nobody here has ever presented it as an option either as hard as the road ahead is. I don’t think anyone in a similar situation would give up either. At 60+ the options are very different but at my age they can throw the lot at me, transplant is going to be rough but they really are throwing the lot at me to give me the best odds and I’ll do them justice giving it all I have to make it work.

Suggsey that must have been an incredible day. Made all the more special knowing how things could have been different. If it weren’t for her treatment and all or your wills to beat it.

That’s exactly the type of thing that really helps, it’s great to hear those success stories. Wanting to see my son grow up is my biggest motivator. I can’t imagine not being there for him. Being able to see and be part of all those big milestones in his life.

oh the otter and owl place is ok too

Pannage season starts this weekend too, so there’ll be plenty of pigs out and about in the forest too as well as the usual wildlife. The Pigs are only out for a few months a year.

Active – Walks just head on out
Bike hire from Brock’
Horse riding lots of stables about.
Kayaking\Canadian canoe on the Beaulieu river
Or Calshot for water sports or if the weathers awful for rock climbing, dry ski slope and velodrome. Motor Museum, Bucklars hard, Exbury

See – Hurst castle, reptile place outside of Lyndhurst, NF visitors centre in Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst, Burley or Lymington for a general mooch about or Ringwood could do a brewery tour there

Eating – The Oak at bank just outside of Lyndhurst great food and ale my personal favourite. La Pergola, family run Italian in Lyndhurst particularly good home made desserts very reasonably priced, been going for years and it’s not changed, cheesy but food and service is brilliant. For posh nosh The Pig just outside Brock’
Other good reliable pubs for good food and beer, Trusty Servant in Minstead and the New Forest Inn in Emery Down, and the High corner inn

HTH

I’d conceder a commission for the right price 😉
email in profile 😆

I’ve cried more this year than my entire life, and I’m I right soft git at the best of times.

tbh its happened more often talking/thinking about my brother being a match and donating me his stem cells and all of the amazing things friends have said and done to help us along the way and knowing how much they really do care and would do whatever they can to help.

That reminds me I have 2 weeks now to execute my kill list, so if your on the list beware 😉
After my transplant my DNA and blood group will change so I should be recrimination free 😆

really odd to think my DNA will cease to exist and my brothers DNA should overtake mine and I’ll become AB blood group from O, Weird!

Consultant has just been in and confirmed I should be out Sunday! 🙂

Just got today’s blood results and they’ve climbed again neutrophils were 0.3 yesterday and 0.4 today. 0.5 means home time!!!!! So tomorrow or Sunday I should be home, which means I can swap this view

for this 8)

As relatively comfortable as this ward is as far as hospitals go, each having our own en-suit private rooms and all, and for months at a time. Its not home with your family.

Cheers guys, I still don’t know about the inspirational/awe type comments. I’m just a regular guy with Shite luck. I suppose you just have to deal with what life throws at you. I just know now how unfair life can be to the extreme. This kind of thing certainly does make you think about life and what is and isn’t important. Not that I was a work all the hours god sends type of person before anyway. You certainly realise what and who is important to you. I think in the same situation most people would surprise themselves.

Coping! well some days you just just don’t, those setbacks really do hit you hard, but you just have to make a new plan and crack on with it and we’re in a good place right now.

I’m just sat around most of the time and much of my time in here I feel ok, a bit under the weather others and properly ill at others, but most of the time it’s waiting for marrow and bloods to recover and trying to stay well and infection free. Its just boring!

My wife on the other hand, is trying to work (reduced hours thankfully) look after our lad, keep the house/garden up together and visit me nearly everyday. Friends and Family have been amazing looking after him and helping out a lot, so she can get here regularly. We’re so lucky to live close (20-30mins drive). The ward I’m on in Southampton covers a huge geographical area. There are patients here from miles away even Jersey and Guernsey. It must be so much harder for them not having pretty regular visitor like I get. Patients rarely meet but the Nurses are great.

The CDF thing yeah is primarily a financial decision which is very frustrating. Yeah I know budgets are tight but what frustrates me the most is there’s a massive percentage of the NHS budget which goes on completely preventable/self inflicted conditions, not all cases I know, but a lot of the following: Diabeaties, heart, lung liver and some cancers from lifestyle choices Diet, Smoking, inactivity. Having always been a fairly health guy and getting a very serious illness which I could have done nothing about and to have care compromised because of funding its very bitter pill to swallow. Typing this looking out of my bedroom window is a bus stop full of overweight patients on gowns and PJs some in wheelchairs with drips all smoking away 😥 it will be like that all day! While the people actually waiting for a bus, old young and also ill are scattered about avoiding the cloud. oh and theres an actual smoking shelter 20-30meters away 🙁

The solutions aren’t easy or quick and I’m not proposing just cutting people off, but this ward and many other cancer care wards could easily use twice as many beds and I know I’ve been delayed at times coming back because of availability. I would never knock the treatment I’ve received here because it’s been brilliant but I know the consultants could do better/more with more resources. Diabetes is the single largest budget in the NHS and climbing quickly. My father in law is a prime example, 25 stone, getting dressed brushing his teeth and walking to the car is about as much exercise as he gets each day. He’s now diabetic, problems with his teeth, his eyes, and his feet. lots of help offered he knows he has to change or know the consequences. Has he lost any weight in the last few years, nope out at the pub and scoffing massive curry’s regularly grrrrr and the NHS just keep patching him throwing good money after bad. There has to be a point when people have to take responsibility for themselves.

I wonder if properly linking funding would be an idea e.g. smoking, alcohol and potential sugar/Fat Taxes linked and ring-fenced specifically for the affects of them.

I know we as cyclists never really wanted that with VED which Osborne has sort of brought back but I don’t know if it might add some personally responsibility… probably not! my FIL will never change imo. I so want to shout at him some days, “Do you not want to see your grandchildren grow up, do something about it” he loves his grandchildren but is absolutely resigned to dying early, like his father did. He’s cashed in every financial provision he ever had for a retirement and is busy spending it (Cars, holidays and supporting his income now) because he “knows” he’s never going to get retirement. That’s how bad he is. A self for-filling prophecy, even sadder thing is his wife probably will and there will be bugger all left for her to live off bar state provisions 😥

anyway thats a whole other argument which has no doubt been covered on here

Mrs Potter who was an art teacher but the only one who did all the pottery classes

Same here eBay ad, chrome on Android. Again a refresh and it loads

In addition to the croozer which got/gets the most use, I bought a Yepp Ahead mini. My little boy loved it, being up front and able to talk and everything was brilliant. I’ll be flogging it at some point if your interested as he’s out grown it anyway.

I went for the Yepp as could ride much more normally, much less knees out than the weerides from what I’ve seen. But! its only got a weight limit of 15kgs, also I’d say they’re very much a summer time thing, as little ones can get very cold very easily in anything but warm uk weather. hence why we used the buggy far more. there is a wind-shield attachment for the Yepp maybe for other too

I would say you can do it! 7 months is enough time imo provided your targets are realistic. If your happy to finish, not to necessarily beat your colleague depending on his starting point/fitness, with maybe the odd walk towards the end. Then get on a slow and steady program and go for it.
I’m 6’2″ and was probably about a 100kgs when I started a 3 month program from nothing to my first marathon. That marathon was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but god did it feel good to finish.
It sound like remaining injury free will be your biggest challenge, I would initially concentrate on losing a bit of your weight first keeping runs pretty short so more cycling and swimming first before starting to bring your running mileage up in a few months, and then I’d do a mix of off and on road running, not too much on road.

Good luck! you can definitely do it.

Personally a couple of florescent tubes for general lighting, then one or two movable spots on the wall or ceiling or even a desk lamp for the workbench when you really need it

I’ve got a great affection for the place, having done four 3 Peaks yacht races from there, with local sailors. Brilliant atmosphere around town that weekend for sure. I’ve spent quite a bit of time there and met some lovely locals over the years there. I too think it’s really under rated, yep the town can be pretty cheesy in places but the location and surrounding areas are stunning!! I like the Last Inn for a pint and food, couple of nice cafes and places to eat, nothing to fancy but good grub at least.

I really hope they don’t close that bridge\cycle route that the council is trying to close.

My Mum and Wife use “tea” to refer to meals too, I correct ’em every-time 😉
They’re both born and bread souther’s too. The thing that bugs me most is that that use it completely ambiguously. Could mean Lunch, Dinner, Supper or even posh high nonsense, which I’ve never personally partaken in in my life. But I was brought up in Council house by my single parent mum and I don’t don’t drink tea or coffee, and sandwiches in my book are best cut as doorstops, as should cake, ploughman’s and a pint is more me. High tea is for the ladies wot lunch. 😆

We only manage to eat early with the little man (3 year old) weekends and the two days he’s not a nursery and we work each work a half day from home normally, and each will have it ready as the other arrives.

We don’t like him eating too late/close to his bed time on those days. Doesn’t always work and sometimes we eat later on those days, but we like to eat together as a family as much as we can, as he gets older and bed times move back a bit it’ll be easier to eat together at 7ish which we’d find a bit more normal.

Firstly Tea is a drink 😉
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner! late smaller dinner called Supper is acceptable too
brunch or elevenses are descriptive and accurate so just about ok too 🙂

In hospital far to bloody early, the whole food day is too compressed imo, breakfast 9, lunch 12, dinner 17-17:30.

At home, dinner if eating with the little man 5:30-6ish before bed at 7-7:30.
Nursery days where he has dinner there, the wife and I eat about 7:30-8 after bed time.

Singling out cyclists is nonsense!
New Forest resident here and we get similar here.
The actual science says basically the slower you are the more your likely you are to disturb ground nesting birds. WCA has in the past quoted an actual scientific study which has a list with a decreasing scale showing their potential to cause issues with ground nesting birds etc.

Its something like:
Walker with dog off lead
Walker dog on lead
Walker
Horse rider
Cyclists

Don’t quote me on the list exactly, but the general gist was cycling was far from the worst and singling cyclists out in that way is nonsense.

Also here there are routes that just don’t join up to anything. Yep we ride cheeky stuff, Tbh it’s hard to get anywhere without doing it. I don’t feel I do any more damage than any other type of user in the forest. Tbh far less than some but cyclists are endlessly vilified in the forest, on or off road. Its nonsense bigotry from a vocal but unfortunately influential few.

Midnighthour really good points +1 on those

OP Probably the right decision in the practical sense for sure.

Your clearly unhappy at work though so do try to do what you can there to try an address the issues there, we all spend too long at work to be unhappy the whole time we’re there.

I know that’s easier said than done sometimes. I’ve completely given up with my immediate boss at work and I know my attitude towards him doesn’t help but after years of trying with him you can only try so many times. His boss is aware of the situation (Although doesn’t discuss or directly deal with it) and I now deal with him. I know I’m not blameless for where the situation is, I’m not that naive. unfortunately my boss takes absolutely no responsibility for anything and will never change, so my brick walls just go up.

Keep your eye out for opportunities for change being miserable at work isn’t good for you (btw my ill health had nothing to do with work).