I enjoy planning 3 week trips to the US. It consumes me for weeks.
Then I think, that was nice but I can’t be arsed to leave the house.
True story.

Fun fairs are where the Brits demonstrate their true ugliness.

Shame my dad left Judaism before I was born…

Thanks, I noticed a few chaps on here have had their chaps chopped from another, err, thread, so seeing an urologist in a couple of weeks to get the expert opinions.
And rest assured, I will not be posting any pictures!

Sorry should have said, don’t google at work – it’s to do with your private parts.

You need your own support network so see family and friends.
Awful thing to happen.

its shit like that makes me happy im single

I had a breakup about 10 years ago with someone, but the reasons we broke up were complicated, and then my mind started telling me everything would be ok if we could get back together…looking back on it all now, I was just really f-ing lonely, and probably clinically depressed.
It had little to do with her in the end.

This happens ALL the time and you are not going to be penalised because of it.

It happened to me during an exam too, they took me out the room as I knew I was going to faint.

Take each day at a time. If you are worried of it happening again go see the dr and get something to help with the nerves.

90% is very optimistic, so it should hopefully all be ok.
Fingers crossed for you all.

Swinley, she’s a cruel mistress, she’s an errant child, she’s a deceptive ocean with strong currents underneath.
My biggest off was at Swinley, still have the scars, and every time I’ve been there I’ve seen a big accident. Strange place.

The English don’t know how to socialise unless they are in the pub getting drunk or at home in front of the TV.
We are an anti-social, reserved nation, I blame the weather and Protestantism.

“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions”.

That accident could have been a lot worse but still for a car to flip over from just being clipped is a bit strange.

They’ve been out in force round here too.
The local Tory MP has a Mini-Me Councillor who follows him around. He’s about 25 years younger but dresses exactly the same, has the same hairstyle, wears the same style of brown shoes.
It’s a very safe seat so I get the impression Mini-Me is being groomed for the hotseat in 5 years time.

Big Joe Joyce to win it in the 9th.

Put a number of names in a hat and get her to pick one.
I’d suggest:
Rome
Seville
Barcelona
Porto
Verona

Lisbon, I never quite got on with, I found it a bit run-down and over-rated.

I’d just bank it in your normal account. Interest rates are so low that unless you are sitting on some major savings, the interest you will accrue isn’t worth all the hassle on going down the savings account/ISA route, and the restrictions that come with them.
DO NOT get involved in peer to peer lending, especially things like Funding Circle which look very dodgy to me. And avoid anything associated with HTB.

The Polish connection is interesting and having visited a few times, I think I’d be tempted to move out there if my OH was from there, all work-dependent of course! The build quality of the property is superior to the UK and also prices are fairly reasonable, unlike here.

Massive respect.
RESPECT.

@dickyboy makes a good point.
My sister’s ex husband walked out and in this case there was no option but to sell the house, try as much as we wanted to keep her there, the mortgage would just have been too big.
But since then she and her two kids have had to live in various rental accommodation, which has been expensive and unstable. It is f-ing heartbreaking to watch, and as of today has just been given a month’s notice to leave a place she had been told was her’s to rent long-term (owned by a Baptist church, funnily enough).

She tried to get a new place but just didn’t have enough in salary to get a mortgage, even with my parents help.

But I’m assuming in this case, both partners would have enough (both in deposit and ability to get a mortgage) to buy two separate properties should sell the house? If that is the case, then selling up might be a better idea – but I would get the OP to ask his sister to see a mortgage adviser and work out exactly how much she can borrow for her own place asap.

My feeling is she is getting taken advantage of here. It is a big risk for her getting a new mortgage if she is still involved in another property, even if she isn’t paying anything.
Probably best to sell the property and start afresh.

Anyone else having the week from hell?
Just found out my sister and her kids are being made homeless…getting to the point of wishing I could just go to sleep and not wake up for a couple of years.

Find positive, reasonable, and open non-judgmental people to talk to.
That could be a therapist, or a friend or relative.
I’ve been going through purgatory (hell would be too strong a word) and decided to talk openly and honestly with my father for the first time this week.
He is naturally very reserved but seems to be more open since retirement. I’m also seeing a therapist who specialises in my particular area of worry.
I had a nervous breakdown 10 years ago and am determined not to repeat the past, but to be open and honest with people I trust, which I didn’t do the first time around.

In terms of early retirement, it depends on two things: how much you can earn now, and what your outgoings/obligations are.
In terms of the latter, a big mortgage and kids make early retirement very difficult.

I was PT and very happy, had time to get out on the bike, pursued my own interests.
Now FT and very unhappy, the extra money is useful but I end up spending it just to make me feel better.
Currently trying to go back to a PT role.
Apparently the dutch are some of the happiest people because they work part-time a lot more than we do.
So I’d go for it.

This thread is bollox frankly. You know in your hearts there is a problem but instead of confronting it you choose to live in a haze of irony facilitated by photoshop.
When there were problems in the past, people got together and said no more, they set up football clubs and youth clubs to channel the despair that is all too obvious in modern society.
Of course things were no better in the past, but at least people responded to the problems rather than self-congratulating themselves on how superior they are to the troublesome yoof now they have a mountain bike and a mortgage.
Rant over!

I witnessed a feral yoof attack a couple of weeks back.
It was a very depressing sight. Even the policeman who took down my report said, “That sounds lovely”.
Something has gone wrong in our society, that’s for sure.

This thread has gone a bit off piste.

“what 3 words do you think your closest friends would use to describe you?”

Whats-his-name.

Do you consider homosexuality to be a sin?

Coalition of Chaos?
Coalition of Chaos!

High 5s round the table at Tory HQ.

I would gone for “Mongolian Clusterf%ck” myself.

Tory MP Nigel Evans, who is gay, asked Mr Farron whether he thought being gay was a sin. He replied: ‘I do not.’

(Caveat – these are not my views but this is what I’ve learnt from evangelicals at uni many moons ago)

The majority of evangelical Christians do not consider being gay (or as they prefer to call it, same-sex attracted) sinful in itself, rather they see it as a reflection of human brokenness; but the practicing of homosexuality is generally understood to be sinful – along with all sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage.

So the only option is to remain celibate or hope somehow that the orientation changes over time.

I don’t really understand Tim Farron’s position. He is an evangelical Christian who thinks homosexuality is a sin.
Why therefore vote in favour of same-sex marriage, isn’t that simply a contradiction?
Evangelicals believe a) there is such a place as hell and b) it is their duty to convert people to Christ in order to save their souls.
That’s quite different from cultural or liberal Christianity which thinks it’s better to be a Christian than not one, but that it probably doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
I just don’t understand why an Evangelical would join the lib dems, let alone be their leader.

@ Northwind

TBH it seems like he’s got 2 ways out but the other one is really pretty simple- you go yeah, my beliefs and upbringing have made me feel that homosexuality is wrong. But my personal beliefs aren’t important in this,they don’t define our policy. The rights of LGBT people are far more important than my feels. We’re not the Tory party, we don’t screw everyone who we don’t agree with.[/quote.

I agree under non-electioneering conditions that would be an ok response, although there was a lot of disgruntlement among lib dems when he was elected leader in 2015.
But the dirty nature of elections means the mainstream media and Tories are going to laser focus on this issue in order to discredit him and undermine the Remainer Lib Dem vote.
Farron is already showing signs of irritation over being asked the question and I wouldn’t be surprised if he resigned this week.

Farron might do well to resign and give a less controversial lib dem the hotseat as the questioning over his views on homosexuality are only going to intensify as the electioneering goes on.

Not going to happen tho – they won’t get many more seats. None in Scotland where they used to get a few but the tory enabling and Carmicheal the liar mean they are toast in Scotland

This is the mistake people who write the lib dems off are making, since they underestimate the chance of the lib dems attracting the protest vote.

The lib dems will attract the protest Remainer vote which is by nature Pragmatic. This GE is basically going to be a re-run of the Referendum but with Remainers (or those sympathetic to Remaining) far more energised and likely to vote.

That means people will overlook perceived broken promises from the party in the past. It may also mean that Farron’s distinctly un-Lib Dem views on homosexuality may prove to be inconsequential.

Re Farron saying he wouldn’t go into government with May, well he wouldn’t have to, since if she fails to get a majority she will be gone. So he would still be able to form a coalition with the Tories but just with a different PM.

The lib dems could recover their losses in 2015 by attracting the strategic Remainer vote.
Constituencies which voted Leave did not necessarily do so overwhelmingly and many people may have changed their minds anyhow.
The gov and media are going to try and undermine Farron and the lib dems by focusing on his views on homosexuality. It will come up in every interview from now on. It’s too late to change leader now.
The Tories made a mistake by continuing austerity politics and May has not done enough to reassure the electorate on this issue.
So I’m predicting a Tory-Lib Dem coalition with a new PM.
Saying all that, the French elections could change everything.

Moving to Montana soon, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.

Tories will struggle to get a majority IMO for a number of reasons
– the new expenses story will break
– young people will vote en masse this time around and won’t be voting Tory
– Remainers will vote en masse for labour or lib dem; there will be record turnout

I think we could be looking at another Tory-Lib Dem coalition, or even a Labour-Lib Dem coalition.

Interesing times…

Aston Hill is bloody technical especially when its muddy.

Re Samaritans – not gonna happen. I just generally hate talking to people on the phone, have a bit of a phobia about it since someone threatened to find me and shoot me over the phone when I was about 14 (!).

Take a look at the CALM website, they have an online chat service which means you don’t have to pick up the phone.